The Darkness That Binds Him
by XxKageTenshixX
Summary: Abandoned by the one's he loved, Naruto Uzumaki has been left to live his life in a cell for a wrong that he did not commit. But when the truth finally emerges, can his friends proove themselves to him once again or are they too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:** I know I should be working on my DGM story I was suppose to update months ago, but this just kinda popped into my head one day and I just had to write it. But this is my first Naruto story to ever post and I'm not all that exicted to publish this chapter. I wrote the second chapter first and didn't have anything to actually write for this one. This was suppose to be a prologue, but then I changed it into a chapter, so it will suck, big time. Hopefully, all grammatical errors have been corrected.

* * *

Chapter 1

Naruto stared blankly, unbelievingly, ahead of him. The words that were spoken not a second ago running through his head, blocking out the shouts of the people around him.

He stood in front of Tsunade and the Konohagakure Council. The villagers and his fellow ninja stood behind him, their cheers and shouts ringing in his ears. He looked up at Tsunade. Hurt, anger, and remorse flashing in her honey colored eyes. The Elders, Homura and Koharu, sat beside her. Their faces were impassive but anyone could see the satisfaction in their eyes.

His hands were bound in front of him by chains that connected to the ones around his ankles. His signature orange jacket was missing—he'd left it lying on one of the many training grounds when he was forcibly retrieved. But that was days ago. His wounds from earlier had yet to heal and would take longer to heal than they normally would, with the chakra blockers around him, blocking out his and Kyūbi's chakra.

"Please Baa-chan! You can't honestly believe that I would do that? I would never hurt Sakura or those other girls! You have to believe me!" Tears threatened to form in his eyes but he refused to let them fall. He refused to show any weakness. "Please…you have to…"

Tsunade didn't even look at him when she stood and turned to leave.

"Baa-chan…" He tried, in one last attempt to prove his innocent, but that attempt was quickly silenced when Tsunade turned to face him. He shrank back a little at the rage that clouded her eyes.

"Enough! How dare you think you can hurt my student and citizen of this village and think you can get away with it! You have committed these crimes and you shall be pay for them. I will not listen to any more of your lies."

He didn't say anything when she finally left. He didn't struggle when he felt two ANBU grab him by the shoulder and roughly led him away—their fingers gripping him hard enough to bruise. He didn't look up as he passed the ones he once called friends with looks of disgust on their faces. He didn't think about anything as he was transported to one of the Konoha prison, nor when he was dragged into the darkest level and the steel door slammed shut, sealing his fate in that damp cell.

He did notice the tears that ran freely down his cheek, dropping almost silently onto the cold floor.

* * *

**A/N: **So, how was it? Sucked didn't it? Well, I promise the next chapter will be much better and it will be much more longer too. So please be nice and review.

And I don't know exactly how this beta thing works, but if any one is interested, let me know.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Blue eyes, dull in color, gazed blankly at the ceiling above them. Their owner lying almost listlessly on the blood stained floor. Chains, attached to the wall beside him, clung tightly around his neck, wrists, and ankles. The cold from the metal burned against his exposed skin. What was left of his clothes had been reduced to rags that were now torn and dirtied even further. Underneath the rags that covered him, his pale body was covered in deep gashes, cuts, and bruises. And once golden blonde hair was now dyed red with blood.

He didn't know how long he'd been trapped in the small cell, though it seemed like years—he had long ago stopped counting. Stopped hoping, even though he didn't remember what he was hoping for. But he didn't care, not anymore at least. He supposed he had at one point in time, but that too, seemed like ages ago.

A loud _'clank'_ echoed in the damp air, but he didn't move. Not even when he heard the footsteps getting closer or when the cell door was unlocked and three ANBU stepped in, the animal masks hiding their disgusted looks. He didn't need to see their faces to know it was there. It always was.

He continued to not be affected by their presence, just like he tried every time someone would come and invade his Hell—for that was the only thing it could be. Every last one of the little…"visits" would always involve him getting beaten within an inch of his life. Or on more special occasions, his visitors would tear into his bloodied skin…sometimes their violation of his already broken body made him feel dirty, different from the dirt that covered him from the outside. It left him with the feeling of degradation...one of the few feelings that was a constant now a days.

He briefly wondered which would happen today.

A barely audible gasp left cracked lips at the sharp pain that shot through his ribcage, jousting a couple of broken ribs against his lungs. A quick look up at the Bird mask supplied his mind with the answer of which of the men, he assume it was men, delivered the harsh kick to his left side. A whimper left his lips, only to come out as a haggard rasp.

The other two ANBU joined in with their teammate and placing a swift kick or punch here or there. Suddenly, the one with the Dog mask reached up behind him and removing the katana that was strapped to his back. The boy wearily eyed the blade, too deprived of _anything_ to even defend himself from the pain he knew was coming. Dog raised the blade slowly above his body before swiftly plunging the blade into his lower abdomen. He let out a strangled cry, his body jerking weakly, rattling the chains that held him in place. The ANBU waited until his cry had stopped before twisting the blade slightly, enlightening another shallow cry from his dry throat. His body twitched under the pain. The other two ANBU held him down while the other plunged the blade a few more times into his body.

Finally the blade stopped. He didn't move an inch as it was roughly pulled from within his skin. The screaming pain from his body was slowly receding as his body went numb. Slowly, blue eyes closed, the harsh laughter above him was the last thing his mind comprehended before he entered the welcomed darkness.

_**TDTBH*TDTBH*TDTBH**_

Tsunade sat at her desk with a tired look on her face. The last few months had been absolutely hell. The amount of paper work she had to do had more than doubled, leaving her office in even more chaos then it had been previously. Empty sake bottles lay scattered and buried under paper.

One of the more pressing issues was the disappearance of shinobi throughout the villages.

In the past month, Konoha's neighboring villages had been attacked—along with villages further out leading to Suna. They weren't big villages, just smaller ones neighboring the borders. There was belief that it was Akatsuki's doing, some thought it was the work of Rouges. But the case still remained that ninja from all of the attacked villages were reported missing. Even a few Konoha shinobi that were sent on scouting missions had disappeared without a single trace. But that was not what worried the Godaime.

Uchiha Sasuke was spotted not ten miles away from the gates of Konohagakure.

Tsunade was no fool. There was no way the Uchiha could be seen that easily by a couple of low ranking jonin unless he wanted to. But…for what purpose? Was he behind these disappearances? If so, what purpose would he have for them? Why attack these smaller villages? Why kidnap Konoha ninjas? There wasn't any information that he could get from them about the village that he didn't already know.

When news of Itachi's death reached her, she thought that he would be satisfied with his brother dead and return to Konoha. Then she wouldn't have to keep sending shinobi after him. The village would welcome back the young Uchiha heir with open arms, much to her distaste. But when he joined up with Akatsuki and declared to destroy Konohagakure, she knew he wouldn't return unless it was to carry out his threat against them.

The truth about the night of the Uchiha Massacre was no secret to her and even though she _understood_ the Uchiha's reasons for doing what he has, did not mean she _accepted_ his methods. Now he was a rogue ninja that was wanted by the Hidden Villages. A threat that needed to be dealt with.

The worried expression on her face was replaced with one filled with pain and remorse.

On the left corner of her desk, away from the rest of the clutter, sat one sheet of paper. The black letters printed menacingly on the smooth white sheet. The name _Uzumaki Naruto_ was the first thing her eyes noticed when she looked at it. Further down a space was provided for her signature. Hesitantly she grabbed the paper and scanned over it.

It had been months since what people were calling "the incident" or in the villagers case, "The demon showing his true colors" and the sentencing of Naruto. The two young girls had recovered quickly from their injuries, seeing as their wounds weren't bad. Sakura was recovering as well and was scheduled for an abortion tomorrow.

Neither the pink haired kunoichi nor any of the shinobi that were once friends with Naruto ever mentioned him. It was strictly taboo for his name to be mentioned around them. They had been devastated at the actions of their friend.

She remembered being horrified at what Naruto had done. When she found out it was him, it infuriated her that he could have done such a thing and in an act of rage she denounced him and locked him up without a second thought. Even when he pleaded with her that he was innocent. Of course, she felt awful afterwards. The boy was like a younger brother to her…but what could she do? All of the evidence pointed to him.

Thinking she was doing the right thing—for who, she might later ask herself—she picked up a pen that was lying on the desk and signed the paper. Sealing Naruto's fate.

She didn't have time to drawl on the actions what she had done because as soon as she was finished writing her name, the door to her office was swung open and a jonin rushed in.

"Lady Tsunade! Uchiha Sasuke was spotted near the village!"

Tsunade stood abruptly, knocking her chair back against the wall. Her honey brown eyes narrowed. "Where?"

"Near the east gate. A genin team spotted him on their way back."

"Was anyone injured?"

"No. Besides their injuries from their mission no additional injuries were made. The Uchiha disappeared no long before they spotted him." The jonin explained quickly.

"I see." She closed her eyes. "Get me Kakashi. And tell him it's urgent."

The jonin nodded and left quickly to find the white haired shinobi. Tsunade dropped back into her chair, covering her eyes with her arm. A weary sigh escaped her lips. Luckily she didn't have to wait long before Kakashi entered in through the window.

"Yo!" He greeted, the trademark eye smile present on his face.

"Quit with the antics, Kakashi."

The jonin quickly straightened, all playfulness gone at the seriousness in her voice. He waited for her to speak.

"Uchiha was spotted again…near the east gate." The jonin's visible eyes widened. She sighed. "I don't know what he's up to but I suddenly have a bad feeling something is going to happen very soon."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Gather all available ninja and have them report to my office." He waited knowing there was more. "…and I need you to give this to the Council." She handed him the paper she had signed a few minutes ago. Kakashi took the paper and looked at it. His eyes widened as he read it. He looked up at her. "Could you pass along the message to Sakura? I'm sure she would want to know."

He nodded stiffly, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Tsunade gave another sigh and pulled out a bottle of sake. Opening the bottle and taking a swig out of it. She leaned forward and placed her face against her hands, ignoring the tears that slipped from in between her fingers onto the floor.

_**TDTBH*TDTBH*TDTBH**_

Kakashi stood in front of the Council, a worn look showing through his mask.

He had shown the request to Sakura. He had hoped that she could step above him and forgive Naruto, but he was mistaken. She had done exactly what the others had. She had denounced Naruto, yelling that she would never forgive him for what he did to her. He stared at her sadly and left without another word.

The Council read the paper, a satisfied smirk on their faces. They stood up and as they passed him, the woman stopped and faced him.

"Then it is decided."

"Uzumaki Naruto has been sentenced to execution."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: **First off, I want to say I'm really sorry for the wait. Also, I want to thank everyone who added **The Darkness That Binds Him **to their Alerts and/or Favorites. I really appreciate it.

Next I want to give a fair warning that this chapter is not really complete. I wanted it to be longer but what I wanted to write has mysteriously disappeared from my head. Also due to the fact that I haven't been able to get in touch with my beta lately, this chapter is also not properly edited. And though it kills me to post this chapter like this, I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. Later I will be re-posting this chapter with the proper editing and corrections. Hopefully.

Lastly, before you start reading, I thought some of you would like to know that when I started this story, I didn't know where exactly I was going with it, but I did know how I wanted it to end. And as I was looking over the reviews that I received, I have decided to change how this story will end, which means that Anything I had planned is more than likely now null and void.

So I want to give a special thanks to: **_Atomic-Diamonds-Afterimage, Jkice, Rialga, Holyriot, roboguy45, 917brat, Roughdozer, TheDogSage, Noogai5097, kihakukage, Valkyrie Vamp, Panda-chan, Shizuka-naru Gotetsu, fullhouses, twilight8377, Naginator, muffin-button, Dark master, anon, and lady _**for reviewing. You guys have ultimately sealed the fate of this story.

Oh, I forgot to mention that, no, I have nothing against any of the characters in **_Naruto_**, so don't assume anything just because I am portraying them in a certain way.

And without further delay, here is the third chapter of **The Darkness That Binds Him. **Enjoy!

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Chapter 3

A small gasp left him as pain coursed through his already bruised torso. The man above him sent another harsh kick to his side, adding to the echoing pain in his body. The blows kept coming, but after a while, he stopped making noises. His body was quickly becoming numb again. The man stopped once he realized he wasn't getting a response out of the blue eyed boy. He bent down, grabbing the mess of dirtied blonde hair, lifting his head a little.

"Lucky for you demon." The man sneered. "Your death has been prolonged, so I'm not allowed to kill you…but that doesn't mean that I can't have any fun with you."

The boy continued to stare blankly ahead, barely understanding the words that were just spoken. The grip on his hair tightened before the man slammed his head into the cold floor with a sickening_ 'crack'_. A sharp echo started to ring in his ears and his vision blurred. Blood poured from the side of his head, matting his red dyed hair back to his skull. His body shook violently as he coughed out blood, his lungs trying to empty out the unwanted liquid.

He barely registered the twisted grin that made its' way onto the man's face, nor when the man pulled out a small silver object from the pocket on his waist. He griped the boy's bruised neck tightly. Those listless eyes met with the man's insane brown eyes, seeing but at the same time looking right past him at nothing. He understood what the man had in plan for him before the object in his hand met his broken body. He welcomed the continued pain and suffering that he knew he somehow he's brought upon himself.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Naruto dropped onto the dirtied forest floor with a satisfied smile on his face. He looked around him. Trees were laid broken and the pieces scattered in all directions. Kunai, shuriken, scrolls, and other objects littered the ground as well. Large craters and other markings now replaced the once smooth and solid ground. All in all, the place was a mess._

_He'd been out here for three day now, constantly training. He didn't tell anyone where he was going or what he was doing, but almost everyone knew that he would be gone for a while. Plus, to make sure he wasn't disturbed for any reason, he picked out the best spot he could think of. No one would find him here._

_With an exhausted sigh, he leaned back on a tree that miraculously survived his training and looked at the sky. The sun was finally setting and he watched as the sky changed colors. Suddenly, a determined look crossed his face. He hoped all his training wasn't going to waste. That he was getting stronger. Stronger, so that he could one day bring _him _home. He didn't care if that task was almost impossible. He would search until he found a way, and when he did, he would make sure he dragged that arrogant bastard kicking and screaming to the place where he belonged. _

_He let that thought run through his head, smiling when he thought of how things could go back to how they were._

_His thoughts were cut short when he sensed unfamiliar chakra signatures headed for him. His brows knitted together when he noticed that were trying to suppress their chakra. Where they enemy of the village or something? Their chakra was too strong to be some random stranger. For a second, he thought it was Akatsuki and panicked. He quickly stood, pulling a few kunai from out of the ground and positioning himself for a fight. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was only ANBU. But that relief soon disappeared._

"_Uzumaki Naruto, by the Hokage's orders, you are now under arrest."_

_Naruto would have laugh at the ideal that Tsunade baa-chan would have ordered such a command if the atmosphere wasn't so intense. These guys weren't kidding. _

"_Why?" He asked, his eyes narrowing._

"_Please drop your weapons and come with us." The leader said, ignoring his question._

"_You answer my question first! Why would Baa-chan want me arrested?"_

"_Uzumaki Naruto, if you do not comply, we will have to take action." The ANBU warned. The rest of the ANBU's team surrounded Naruto, fully intent on subduing him if necessary. _

_Naruto's body tensed slightly before he stood up straight, dropping his weapons. The ANBU wasted no time surrounding him and before he knew it, he was inside the village and cuffed with chakra blockers._

_They led him through the village. He tried his best to ignore the glares and insults that were sent his way, but he couldn't shake the feeling that, this time, the stares were more intense as he passes by. A sinking feeling suddenly over took him, and he knew something was terribly wrong._

_When they reached the Hokage's office, he looked dreadfully at Tsunade. And his fears were confirmed. Tsunade glared at him as he entered. He had to repress the urge to turn and run away from the murderous aura consuming the room. Just he was about to demand what was going on, the words that left the blonde hair woman froze the blood in his veins._

"_How could you?" The words were so soft but they held a shard edge to them. Naruto flinched._

"_What are you talking about Baa-chan?"_

_He wanted to desperately get rid of that terrible twisted feeling he had in his guts, but it seemed like fate had other plans._

_Tsunade stood and flung the nearest object available to her, which happened to be an empty sake bottle, at him. The bottle barely missed him by an inch. The blood in his veins seemed to get colder and his eyes widened as his mind tried to process what was being said to him._

_He had approached Sakura the day he was leaving to train and asked her to help him with some paperwork that Tsunade was making him do before he left the village. He told her that the load was at his house. So she followed him to his crummy apartment. When Sakura was finally inside, he locked the door and attacked her. They fought for a minute, the pink haired kunoichi pleading for him to stop what he was doing. Tired of messing around with her, he picked up a kitchen knife and cut her on her side before knocking her unconscious with the blunt end of the knife. What he didn't know was that two girls that just happened to be passing by heard the commotion and decided to check it out. He caught the girls, dragging them into his home and tied them up in the living room. He tied up Sakura too. When she woke, he beat her, yelling at her how he was "never good enough for her" and how she never paid any attention to her even when he confessed his love to her several times. He told her how he hated the fact that she still loved that "damned Uchiha" even after he had abandoned them. When he was finally done, he dragged her into his room, tied her to his bed and told her he would show her how much he cared for her. Then he _raped_ her! He did it several times, while proclaiming his love for her and when he was tired of her, he moved onto the other girls. He beat them too, but he didn't get a chance to do anything else because someone chose to show up at his door at that exact moment. He had forgotten to gag the girls, so when they heard the knocking, they started screaming for help. Whoever was at the door knocked it down just as he made it to his window. He jumped out, but managed to catch a glimpse of Shikamaru helping the poor girls he tortured. He disappeared and every available ninja was out searching for him. Sakura and the two girls were rushed to the hospital and that's how he came to be in front of Tsunade in handcuffs. _

_But the only problem was he didn't do it! He had left earlier that morning, way before all this was said to have happened. He was in the forest training the whole time._

"_That's not possible! I was long gone by that time, I was already in the forest training!"_

"_Why couldn't we find you? Why did no one know where you were?" Tsunade asked seriously._

_Naruto looked down and shook his head slowly. "It was so that no one would interrupt my training! I swear it! You should know me better than that to know I would never do anything like this."_

"_You were gone for three days."_

"…_I…I wanted to get stronger. So that I could bring Sasuke back. That's why I was gone for all that time." Naruto said softly._

_The silenced that followed was slowing killing the blonde haired boy. Tsunade finally looked up and his world crumpled._

"_As much as I would love to believe that, Uzumaki," Naruto flinched at the use of his last name. Something she had never done before. "I cannot. Not only is that story unreliable, the evident in your apartment tells me otherwise. Frankly, I believe Sakura when she says that it was you. Your chakra signature was fresh and who else has traces of the Kyuubi's chakra mixed with theirs?"_

_Those words hurt, but not like the next._

"_Maybe your obsession with Sasuke has finally gotten to you. Maybe he has corrupted you also. It would explain why you are so desperate to find him." Her words were sharp and filled with distaste. At who, he didn't know, but it hurt all the same._

_Naruto was not above begging, especially if it was for his life that was being framed for this sick crime. "Baa-chan, you know me better than this! Please!"_

_Tsunade didn't look at him. "It seems I don't know you at all." While Naruto stared disbelievingly at her, she addressed the ANBU. "Make sure he is locked up tightly. I don't want Kyūbi's chakra to leak out either."_

_The ANBU bowed to her and led a still shocked Naruto to the underground prisons._

_xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

The cloaked figure had carefully in the shadows of the alley, making sure to mask his chakra so his presence wouldn't be noticed. He watched in satisfaction as the shinobi of Konoha rushed around the village, panic clear on their faces. Some of the villagers watched curiously from their homes while others were gossiping to each other as the ninja passed by. A twisted grin adorned his face. With little effort, he performed a series of hand signs, changing his appearance.

A young man around 19 stepped out of the alley that the cloaked figure was in. He was tall, his pale brown hair was tied in a lose ponytail that went to his mid back. He wore a plain tan V-neck shirt and black pants that stopped an inch before his ankles and the Konohagakure headband around his pale neck. His sea green eyes looked around him, quickly scanning his surroundings before he continued his way out of the alley.

He made his way down the road with ease, passing shops, houses, and panicked ninja. It wasn't long before he reached the center of the town. He smirked when he saw the large number of shinobi. His eyes drifted over each ninja. Ignoring the familiar faces. When he noticed a head of pink hair, the sudden urge to laugh came over him but he held it back. Now wasn't the time..

"Did you hear? Uchiha Sasuke was spotted again." One ninja whispered to the brown haired man beside him.

"Are you sure?" The one next to him ask, the nervousness obvious in his voice.

"Yeah. I hear he attacked a genin team." The blonde one said.

"A genin team?" The other nodded. "Who's?"

The other shrugged. "I don't know but they were headed back to the village when the Uchiha showed up again and attacked them."

The brunette gave the blonde an astonished look and whispered loudly. "You're fucking kidding me!"

The blonde shook his head. "I'm serious. Whoever that team's leader is has some guts though. She took on the Uchiha while her kids ran back here and got help. When they found her, she looked pretty bad. I hear she still hasn't woken up yet."

The brunette shifted his stance to his other foot, a worried expression on his face. "…I don't know. I think the genin teams shouldn't be out there if Uchiha is roaming around."

The blonde scoffed. "Screw that. If they were my team, I wouldn't have fought the Uchiha for them."

"You would have left them to defend themselves from _him_?"

"Don't see why not. The brats should learn to defend themselves against an opponent."

"Fuck you! They wouldn't have stood a chance and you know it! If you went up against him, you wouldn't have lasted a second! And that's if he wasn't screwing with you!"

The blonde shouted something back but the teen had already moved on. He wondered around, observing the many shinobi. Teams were being formed and dispatched around the village. Others were being sent outside to check the perimeter Konoha. As he continued to walk, the name "Uchiha" drifted by his ears. Occasionally someone would say something about a certain blonde headed prisoner.

Soon, he deemed he had gathered the information that he needed and switched directions. As he started to his new destination, a pink blur ran into him causing him to stumble back a little. He stared at the pink haired girl bent down in front of him franticly picking up papers.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there." She apologized quickly before looking up. They locked eyes for a seconds before her name was called.

"Sakura-san, Lady Tsunade wants to see you." The teen looked at the brunette in front of him with amusement. The other narrowed his pearl white eyes at the teen then back at Sakura. Without another word he left. Sakura took one last look at him before bowing again in another attempt to apologize then proceeded to following the other.

The teen smirked to himself, with one last look at the leaving pinkette, before disappearing.

_xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Blood seeped out the once blonde's cracked lips, his stomach not having anything left to empty. His empty eyes shut tightly as his body shook violently from the pain and the immense cold.

He could hear their laughter in his ears, he could feel it when one of the men above him spit on him. His mind registered these actions but he didn't react to it. This had become a normal thing for him. Somewhere deep inside him pictures of people he didn't recognize, didn't remember, were glaring at him with hate filled eyes. They were shouting at him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying, but their glares stayed. And for some reason it hurt deep inside him.

Someone above him kicked him one last time in the abdomen, making him roll onto his back before the group left satisfied and laughing the whole while. He listened to the door close with a loud "bang", his eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling. Then his world descended into darkness.

He laid there unmoving, not seeing, and barely breathing. He could feel the dried blood on his body, in some places it was fresh and provided the only warmth he could ever remember having in his unbearable life. He wondered why he was even in this cage but that thought was quickly diminished. Whatever was happening to him now, he knew he deserved. He just wished they would tell him what he did.

His mind went blank when the door opened slightly. A tall figure stepped into the cell before quickly closing the door behind him. The boy kept his eyes on the ceiling, preparing for the beating he knew was soon to come.

The figure walked towards him, kneeling down when he was close enough. The figure lifted a hand from underneath his dark cloak and lightly touched the boy's bloodied cheek. Blue eyes shifted slowly towards the man, dull blue locked onto piercing black. The man started to caress the boy's cheek. Seeing that no harm was going to befall him, the boy started to relax, turning his head so that his cheek pressed into the man's hand. Only in this person's presence did the blonde allow himself to relax. Soon enough, the blonde's eyes started to close.

"This will all be over very soon."

His mind barely caught those words as his eyes close and sleep over took him. He didn't see the insane look in the other's eyes nor the crazed grin on the man's pale face. The man continued to caress the boy's cheek, the same words repeating itself in his head.

"_Soon, soon, soon..."_

* * *

**Author Note: **So, what did you think? Did that answer some of your questions? Give you more questions than before you started? Probably. But don't worry. The next chapter will be the last of these prologue chapters, then after that, the story will _really_ begin. I already have half of the next chapter written already. I'll try to have the chapter posted in a week.

Though, I know it's still early in this story, I want to here what you guys think is happening (Although it's really obvious at this point). Those of you that review, a couple of you were fairly close to figuring out _exactly _what's going on.

If there were any mistakes that you caught in here, please feel free to let me know and I'll get those corrected.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading! If you have any question or if any of this is confusing to you, please let me know and I'll answer them anyway I can.

**Please review!** And who knows? Maybe you could help influence how this story will flow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: **Hey guys! Sorry it took a while to update. I had this long list of excuses to give you of why I am late…but I figured I shouldn't do that. Though it didn't help that I lost my flashdrive with all of my stories on there and now I have to re-write all of that from scratch. But on the bright side, this is officially the last of the prologue chapters.

I have an opening for a Beta, if anyone is interested! It doesn't really matter to me if you have the Beta profile on here or not. I just wants someone who can read over this story (maybe even my soon to post Naruto stories) and do somewhat proper correction with grammer and make sure my sentences actually make sense. Also someone who doesn't mind helping me along with the story because I am unsure at the moment where exactly I am taking this…(so if you want to persuade the story in anyway this would probably be a good idea :P). Ofcourse, doing this means you get to read the story before everyone else does! Plus, with a Beta, I am more likely to post sooner than leaving you guys hanging. A little imagination wouldn't hurt…but that's optional.

If I sound desperate, it's probably because I am. xD

I'd like to thank all of those who added **_The Darkness That Binds Him_**to their Alerts and Favorites.

And a special thanks to: **roboguy45. basic16, Patriot-112, Dante, the-major-giant95, KamilahKaliope, fullhouses, TheDogSage, tori Dirden, Arclight, chrisgetsu45, Rialga, Tenshi no Genei, Demonshadows, dance dance revolution, Sir Omega, tedlay, || Kairi ||, Atomic-Diamonds-Afterimage, Kiba Namikaze, and anyone else I missed** for reviewing!

So without further delay, I present you the 4th chapter of **TDTBH**. I apologize ahead of time the bad

* * *

Chapter 4

Naruto breathing was shallow as he looked up at the crouching figure with a slightly pained look. He tried to ignore his broken wrist, from the men from before, and the jagged cuts across his neck and chest. The bruising on his chest and cracked rib from the harsh kicks the woman who continually pulled at his hair and screamed at him for the lost lives of her children…

Blue eyes glimpsed at the small clear bottle in the man's hand. The man's blank face turned to one of pure sadistic glee as he held up the small bottle filled with a clear liquid.

"Do you know what this is?" When he received nothing but a blank stare he continued, "Of course not! This is a poison that my family made up generations ago. It wasn't designed to immediately kill whoever was injected with into, but to cause a slow and painful death."

"Beautiful how it works." He paused again, as if expecting a response, but continued again. "It causes your heart to work ten times its normal rate. Your blood will reproduce at an alarming rate as the poison fuses with your cells…and before you know it, your body is rejecting the extra blood. Then your body will start to recognize your blood as an intruder in your own body and you'll die of blood loss." He struck the needle into the bottle and drew some of its contents, tapping the syringe with his finger. "The best thing about this little poison is that even with your body rejected your blood continuously, you won't die as quickly as you think. Your heart will be trying to replace the lost blood that it's forcing out. It'll take hours for you to die. Hopefully even longer."

He jabbed the needle into the blonde's arm, injecting the liquid into his veins. Yanking the needle out, the older man drug his fingers over the jagged cut on his neck, pressing harshly against the wound. The boy to wince slightly.

"Seventeen years ago today, an attack was put onto this village by one of the Tailed Beast…the Kyūbi no Kitsune…" He began eerily. "It killed numerous of our people. Men, women, children, ninjas, and civilians. It didn't matter to that damned monster who it killed. I lost good friends that day, along with my sister and wife. I've had to raise her only sons, as well as my own kids, in their place. Heh, it even cost the Yondaime his life!"

The man laughed, it was a slightly insane laugh. "But like all other tailed beast, _It_ was impossible to kill. The closest the Yondaime could get was sealing _It_ into a newborn child. Since then, we've had to live watching the _Thing_ that killed our loved one walk around this village without a care in the world! No remorse for the lives it had taken. That demon in human skin."

"We watched _It _grow, watched _It_ joined the academy and become a shinobi of this village. Grow stronger and more powerful. We begged the Sandaime that it was a mistake. That bad things would happen if he let _It_ become a shinobi of the Leaf, but the old man wouldn't listen to reason. _It _had fooled him into thinking that _It_ was just a harmless _child_, but we didn't fall for such lies. _It_ even fooled the Godaime and Master Jiraiya, and some of our children. _It_ caused our young Uchiha heir to run off to that Snake, caused attacks on our village, did disgraceful things to the Godaime's apprentice, and attempted to do it to two of our village's own as well!"

The man's laughter was tinged with insanity as he looked over the boys trembling frame. "And now look where _your _wrong doings have led you. In a cell, where a _monster _should be held. Of course, I would prefer it better if you died a year ago, like you were supposed to, but I'm taking care of that."

The boy's body shook with the cold, tears he never knew he could shed flowed from his eyes. His body was aching with a burning pain, his lungs felt as if they were going to shrivel up inside of him. His gripped the place over his heart weakly when he felt pain spread there and latch onto the organ.

"For seventeen years we let you get away, but now, we have you chained. Never to see light again!"

A pained gasp left him and he gripped his chest harder. His heart was beating faster by the second and…it hurt so much. His breaths came in short gasps and pants. His lungs were having a hard time keeping oxygen inside his body.

The man stopped with his ramblings and laughed. "I see the poison has finally kicked in!" He watched in satisfaction as the boy struggled to breathe. He stood and gathered his things before looking at the boy again.

"Today is also the celebration of _your_ defeat." He watched as the boy's body spasm with every cough, blood seeping from his lips and his crystal tears were now red. What little was left of his shirt was now beginning to be dyed with his blood from the deep cuts on his neck and chest. "I will enjoy knowing that your life will finally end today."

Then he left. Leaving the boy still choking on his own blood, which was now coming out of his ears and nose too. His vision turned red as he continued to cry tears of blood, before darkening. The pain was excruciating, boarder lining the worst he has felt since he woke in this cell…though he couldn't tell if it was from the physical or emotional pain that racked his small body. He was just so tired, of the pain, of the anguish. He just wanted to be at peace and rest, but that small part inside him screamed not to give up. But how could he not? When the thought of death was a lot more soothing than this?

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The streets of Konohagakure were filled with more people than usual as the Kyūbi Festival began. Lights and decorations littered nearly every street in the center of the village and music filled the air as children dressed in festive clothing played, each wearing an animal mask of their choice. Their parents happily engaged in conversation among themselves.

Among them, shinobi of the village roamed the streets. Particularly two girls, one with long blonde hair tied in a high ponytail and the other with short pink locks strolled along the streets enjoying themselves.

"How are you, Billboard Brow?" The blonde teased, enjoying the way the other's eye twitched at the old nickname.

Sakura smiled, playfully hitting Ino's arm before replying. "I'm fine, thanks. What about you? Has Shikamaru been treating you well?"

Ino blushed. "Yes, he has. We actually had something planned for later tonight."

Sakura beamed. "Am I going to become an auntie?" If possible Ino's face turned a deeper shade of red.

"O-of course not! It's nothing like that! We've just been so busy with the missions lately and haven't had time to ourselves for a while now. We figured since this might be our only chance to spend some time together, at least until everything is settled."

Sakura gushed. "That's so romantic."

"I guess…It was actually Shika's ideal."

Sakura stopped and looked at Ino. "Really?" Ino nodded, embarrassed. "Didn't know he had it in him."

Ino giggled. "Neither did I."

They stopped at one of the food stands and sat down. They ordered and began talking about their lives, any new interests or other things in their life that they hadn't mentioned before. When their food came they began talking about their memories.

"Something wrong?" Ino asked her. Sakura frowned before shaking her head.

"Ah…no, nothing's wrong…it's just…" She sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping. "Everything is finally taking a toll on me. Just a year ago, it was Naruto sitting next to me…and with everything that's happened…" She stopped, wiping the tears from her eyes. Ino sensing where this was going embraced Sakura in a hug. When she had calmed a little, Ino looked at her seriously.

"Sakura, you shouldn't dwell on things like that. I know that it's difficult and I can't, in anyway, sympathize with you because I haven't had to go through what you had to, but you can't keep thinking about it anymore."

"I know that Ino, and I have forgotten about it, well, as much as a person can forget something like _that_! It's the reason why I've buried myself in work, the reason why I got rid of that...that _thing _when I found out I was carrying _it_. I don't like being known as the girl who was raped by the Kyūbi's host! It's just, I can't help but sometimes wonder 'why me'. Why is it me that all this shit happens to?"

Ino gave her a sympathetic look. "Everyone has their share of things that go wrong with their life. Sometimes it's worse than someone else's luck." Sakura gave her friend a disbelieving look. "What? It's true! You should be happy that you're alive and well!"

Sakura smiled slightly. "Ino…thanks—" She felt Ino's body go stiff as much as hers did.

Both girls stood. Ino paid for the meal and quickly left with Sakura. Neither of them said anything, though they both felt that powerful, yet familiar, chakra signature. For a moment Sakura was afraid that somehow Naruto had escaped but quickly realized that it wasn't him, much to her relief. She hoped to find whoever was giving off such obvious signature quickly so she could continue on with her night. As they got closer, Sakura couldn't help but think that she _knew_ that chakra.

Her eyes widened as she got closer and saw the figure that just appeared in the middles of the crowd. She came to a stop and felt Ino stare in disbelief at the one in front of them.

"Long time no see, Sakura…"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Shikamaru was feeling a bit uneasy all night. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that something big was about to happen. He had hoped that it was nothing but nerves, so he could continue on with his night so he could meet up with Ino later, but luck just wasn't on his side tonight.

A powerful wave of chakra was coming from the center of the village. With a sigh he snuffed out his cigarette and headed of towards the source of the signature. He spotted Neji and Lee already in front him. Picking up his pace, so that he was running beside Neji, they both shared a look. And that very moment there was a spike in chakra before the sounds of an explosion.

Shikamaru cursed under his breath when he saw the demolished building. Civilians were running from the scene while a few shinobi were helping the few injured from earlier. He saw Iruka along with Anko helping guide the rest to safety. Ignoring them, he went to go help the others when a wall of fire was shot out, hitting a few shinobi in the process. When Shikamaru looked up, he wouldn't say he was surprised to see Sasuke standing there with an insane smirk on his lips.

Sai, Sakura, and Ino stood in a defensive stand around the Uchiha. Gai, Kurenai, Chōji, Kakashi, Kiba, and Akumaru joined them. Sasuke looked around at them and threw a smug look at them.

"Hn. Well, looks like all my old 'friends'," He looked at Sai. "…and my pathetic attempt of a replacement, have come to welcome me back. How touching."

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted hesitantly. The Uchiha didn't even spare her a glance.

"Surrender, Uchiha!" Neji said while activating his Byakugan. Tsunade appeared next to Kakashi, ready to help defend her village.

"Why? So you can throw me in a cell and treat me like Naruto-dobe?" He scoffed with a smirk. "I don't think so."

Shikamaru's slowly approached the traitor, his eyes narrowed. "And what would you know about Uzumaki?"

That smirk only seemed to grow wider. "While sneaking into a village, you tend to learn a whole deal about what goes on there…not to mention I was the reason the dobe was convicted of what he was."

Confusion crossed many of their faces. Sakura was trembling where she stood at the mention of Naruto's name but managed to keep a straight face. Kakashi and Gai took a step towards Sasuke.

Shikamaru's body tensed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Sasuke only continued to smirk as he stared straight at him. "You know exactly what I'm saying."

He could see Kakashi's body stiffen, his masked face set in shock and by how pale Neji seemed to turn, it seemed like he had figured it out too. Tsunade's face was set in disbelief before it was quickly replace by an infuriated one. One ANBU who was tired of waiting foolishly decided to attack, flinging himself at the Uchiha. Several others did the same, all ending in the same result. Dead.

"What is he talking about, Shikamaru?"

Ino's soft voice carried to him, but he wasn't paying attention to her. He let out a shaky breath, a pained look crossing his face.

"It was you." Everyone seemed to hear the words that were barely spoken above a whisper. "It was you this whole damn time…but how? We checked, all DNA, even the chakra signature matched! We couldn't have made a mistake like that."

"But you did."

Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief. He wouldn't believe they had made a mistake like that. "No, even if you used genjutsu or any other illusionary jutsu…"

Anyone who wasn't getting what was going on quickly understood. A look of horror crossed the friends' faces. If they had made a mistake like that, it would mean that their friend, if they could even still call him that, was locked away for something he didn't do.

"That would mean he really was…" Sakura choked.

"Innocent? Telling the truth? Betrayed by the ones he called friends?" Sasuke mocked.

"It can't be true! You couldn't have—" Tears were streaming down Sakura's face. No one had yet found the courage to move.

Sasuke's smirk turned into a scowl. "Every jutsu can be perfected, just like new ones can be created. Like a _Henge no Jutsu_ that allows me not only to look exactly like the one I'm impersonating. To replicate their looks, DNA, chakra signatures…even one tainted by A Binju. If you wouldn't have been so quick to kill off _my_ offspring, you would have known that the child wasn't Uzumaki's."

The Uchiha continued to taunt. "And to think you all thought he could harm _poor_ little Sakura. The dobe couldn't even hurt a fly unless it hurt him first, much less a close," He paused, looking Sakura over, as if struggling for the right words. "_friend._"

He stopped again and pretended to think. "Of course…I think I had something to do with that."

"Why would you do something like this?" This time Tsunade spoke, anger clear in her voice. "I always knew you hated Naruto, but to do _this_?"

Sasuke glanced at Tsunade. "I will admit I have always had an infatuation with the dobe. Can you imagine the power of the Kyūbi no Kitsune under my total control? His loyalty only to me? Especially, now that he has been abandoned by those dear to him?" That insane smile was back.

"Why would he want to help you? You abandoned him!" Sakura screamed hysterically, trying and failing to pull herself together.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, not caring in the least the emotional distraught that he was forcing on her. "I treated him better than you did."

Tired of hearing Sasuke's gloating, Lee and Neji aimed an attack towards him, Shikamaru going through the familiar hand signs of one of his family's most famous jutsu. Sasuke dodges the kick, as well as the fist being thrown his way, jumping on the building behind him to avoid the persistent shadow following him. Trying to take advantage of the distraction that the younger shinobi were posing, Kakashi and Kurenai charge at The Uchiha, only for him to be consumed in smoke. A Substitution Jutsu.

"It seems like my time here has been cut short." Sasuke smirked from his position in a tree above them, his eyes narrowed. "I hope to meet you all again." Then he disappeared.

Tsunade cursed and pointed to a group of Shinobi. "Go after him! Do _not_ let him escape!"

The shinobi nodded and began their chase after Sasuke. Tsunade gave a few more orders and everyone except Shikamaru and Sakura were gone to complete their task.

Tsunade turned to them and motioned for them to follow before leaping onto a rooftop. They followed her until they reached a building outside the outskirts of the village.

"Open the doors!" She barked at the ANBU guarding the entrance. Shikamaru watched as they performed a series of hand signs before the door was opened. Shikamaru and Sakura wasted no time rushing after their Godaime. Going deeper into the lower and darker levels of the prison, Tsunade stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. Placing her palm against the door, a click was heard before she threw open the door, stopping dead in her tracks.

Sakura and Shikamaru stopped behind the Godaime, peaking past her shoulders to try and see inside, almost as if they were afraid of entering the dark cell. Shikamaru glanced at the still body lying in the middle of the cell. Whoever this was in this prison barely covered by the rags littering his small frame. One of his legs was twisted at an odd angle and he was covered in dirt and grime. Blood seeped from different parts of his body. It streamed down from his mouth, ears, and eyes, as well as from the cuts that his body possessed. He could see a few strands of yellow amidst the blood covered hair, confirming his fear. Whatever he was expecting, it sure wasn't this.

This was Naruto.

"Go get help." Tsunade barked at one of the guards peeking in from outside the door, his face paling at the order before rushing off. "Sakura, I need you to help me to close off these wounds!"

Sakura kneeled down next Tsunade and began helping, tears starting to form in her eyes. They were limited in what they could do while the chakra repressors were still on the blonde's body, but they pumped chakra into his body, trying to close off the worst of his wounds.

Shikamaru watched them work on the boy until a small medical team came in. They placed the blonde on the gurney, rushing out the cell and to the hospital back in the village, Tsunade shouting orders the whole way back. He followed closely behind them, his eyes glued on the still figure lying on the gurney.

It seemed like everything just took a turn for the worst.

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**Author Note: **So how was it? Like it? Hate it? _**Review**_ and let me know! I will try to have the next chapter up soon.

And, again, if anyone would like to Beta, please send me a PM.

_Thank you for reading._


	5. Chapter 5

**Author Note:** Hey guys! First off, I want to thank you all of you who are sticking with me on this. I know it's taking a long while for this story to progress, but this was the way I planned to write this. And again I am sincerely sorry. But I am trying my hardest to get these chapters out. It's my senior year in high school and I will be focusing more on school, but I will try to update every month, at the most.

Secondly, I want to thank **_Demonshadows_** for helping me out with this story. You're advice on what should happen was greatly appreciated. Without you're help I would have eventually come to a standstill and for that I am very thankful!

Next, I want to thank my awesome new Beta **_TenchiSolutionsForAll_**. You did a super-_fantastic_ job on the revisions and totally made this chapter flow so perfectly. ^^

Last, but certainly not least! I would like to thank all of those who have joined us and added **_The Darkness That Binds Him_** to their Alerts and Favorites. It's made me really happy to have so much attention on this story!

And a special thanks to: **_Naginator, Rialga, HoodFox 3, Riotstarter1214, roboguy45, GreenEggsN'ham, Tenshi no Genei, Bahumat knight, ||Kairi||, fullhouses, xxAkuxx, TheDogSage, festa1984, Naruta13, Evil Lemon Demon, Sori-Akuma no Musei, destroyer olaguwam, KamilahKaliope, Cross on the Hill, XxStarLitxX, muffin-button, JT, Chris67, d unknown, Atomic-Diamonds-Afterimage, Patriot-112, Ancansia, Bloody Black Death, OnGaurd, Ngbeken Lovette, ArgentumVulpes, Merhabi Dreamthief, satako-san, stormingnight and anyone else I missed_** for reviewing!

Oh, and before I forget, I'm writing another story and I would really love it if you guys would check it out. It won't be posted until tomorrow.

Now, I would like to present the 5th chapter of **The Darkness That Binds Him**. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

It had been nearly three months since Naruto had been admitted to the hospital. Sasuke had disappeared just as easily as he had appeared. There wasn't a single clue as to where the Uchiha had gone and that irked the Godaime more than anything.

Tsunade gave a heavy sigh and looked at the pale figure lying in the bed before her. She felt like she had aged another 40 years in the time it took her to slowly walk towards the bed, her feet dragging their way sluggishly across the marble floor. There hadn't been any movement from him at all since they had found him unconscious in his prison cell. In fact, the only signs that he was still alive were the loud beeping coming from the machines attached to his body and the very shallow and slow up and down movement of his chest. The blonde Godaime ran her fingers through his blonde hair softly; regret shining brightly in her honey colored eyes.

Tsunade thought back to that horrible night. Naruto had been rushed straight into the ICU after they had found him. She lost him twice within the first hour of operation, which had continued well into the next day. There had been so much damage to his body. _So much_. Her stomach twisted when she remembered seeing his broken frame covered in blood in that cell. That image was permanently etched into her mind. It was an image she hoped she never forgot. She didn't deserve to forget.

The young blonde had suffered from internal bleeding from whatever poison that had been administered to him. It had caused a few of his organs to stop working simply from the stress his body had undergone trying to flush the toxins from his system. She had restarted the organs, but it was beyond even her formidable talents to get them working at full capacity again. Then there was the internal bleeding coming from the…_abuse_…that he had receive by _those_ people. He had had to undergo three more surgeries later on that first week and even that hadn't fixed all the damage. His right wrist, three ribs, and the bones in his upper left arm and leg had all suffered extensive fractures. His lungs had been punctured by the broken ribs and he had suffered severe chakra exhaustion from the chain that had been keeping the Kyūbi at bay. He had also suffered a concussion that was so severe Tsunade hoped it hadn't damaged his brain in any way, but knew that it would be a miracle if it hadn't. She would have to wait until he awoke to see how serious it was.

Several of the bones in his feet were fractured as well, and his right arm was broken in several places. The majority of his bones had all been broken at one point, some of them several times, but they had healed improperly and were bound to be a problem. His spinal cord had some damage to it, but luckily she fixed that. All of these had caused massive nerve damage in several areas of his nervous system. Antibiotics were pumping through his system to keep the infections from his massive lacerations, weakening his immune system. There wasn't a single patch of skin that hadn't been bruised or scarred.

She was also worried about his healing rate. He was healing at a normal rate for a person, but at a slower rate than a holder of a jinchuuriki should. Why wasn't the Kyūbi healing him?

What frightened her most was Naruto's mental health. Between the betrayal he must feel and what happened in that cell for the past year, there was bound to be a drastic change in his personality. No one goes through that much hell and keeps going like nothing happened. She couldn't help the morbid thoughts that drifted through her head. What if he was so far gone mentally that he no longer recognized any of them? What if all this trauma caused amnesia? Worse, what if he remembered and hated his comrades and entire village? What if he hated her? That scared her more than anything. She was, after all, the one to accuse him of such a horrible crime and sentenced him to that dark prison in the first place. She might have accomplished what 16 years of abuse from the villagers had failed to do. She might have mentally destroyed the blonde.

Tears came to her eyes. How could she have done that? How could she have believed that her _brother _had committed such crimes? She should have stood by her beliefs and looked harder for any other explanations. Maybe then she could have figured out who had actually done it. She KNEW he could never do something like that. He was innocent…and she still let him suffer.

Tsunade didn't try to stop the sob that ripped through her. Taking her hand from Naruto's hair she lightly traced over the bandages that hid the scar that ran across his pale neck, more bandages crossing over his left shoulder to cover the equally horrible scar going across his chest. She let the tears fall freely. She didn't deserve forgiveness, either from Naruto or herself. She knew that and she hoped she never got it.

Another sob escaped her and her knees shook as she collapsed next to the bed. Her hands gripped onto the sheets tightly as the sobs wracked her body. That was how Team 8 found her, huddled on the floor and sobbing. Hinata and Kurenai tried to console the broken Hokage, with little success. Kiba stood silently by the door staring blankly at Naruto, clenching his hands every now and then wishing there was something he could do. Shino watched all this with analytical eyes before finally looking at Naruto. He looked at the formerly sun-kissed skin, now as pale as the sheets Naruto was lying on. Gifts and cards littered the blonde's room. Shino could already deduce that some were from the rookie nine, others were gifts from the villagers. The same ones that had ignored the blonde all his life finally felt remorse at how they had treated him.

Shino, unfortunately, hadn't been in Konoha when the cursed Uchiha decided to make his appearance. He, Hinata and TenTen had only gotten back yesterday from a mission… but they had been told what had occurred.

Sakura would cry every time she thought of Naruto, which was daily. Chōji, in an act thought impossible for an Akimichi, wasn't eating as much as he used to. Shikamaru seemed to be even more in thought, and Neji was, if possible, more silent and anti-social than ever. Of course, the Hyūga spent most of his time on "search and capture" missions for the Uchiha along with Shikamaru and a few others that were once considered close to Uzumaki. Even Lee hasn't been his boisterous self. The village just wasn't the same as it had been when they had left it 4 months ago.

Finally Shino looked back at his Hokage, wailing like a mother that just lost her child…and in a way, she had. It wasn't a secret to anyone that she thought of Naruto as her brother. For all of this to have happened, it would overwhelm anyone even their headstrong leader.

Shino has never really had an opinion on the Uchiha heir before, but seeing all the damage that he's done in the past two and a half years, he realized that Sasuke had done infinitely more bad than good. In fact, Shino wasn't completely sure the Uchiha has done any good in the first place.

Kiba had yet to move from his spot by the door and Hinata hasn't looked at Naruto once since she had come into the room. Kurenai would throw sorrowful glances around the room every now and then, unsure on what to do. Shino could only wonder how one person could do all this.

Later, Shizune came in, Ton Ton following quietly behind her, and escorted Tsunade out of the room to recover. Hinata left soon afterwards. She hadn't been able to take being in that room any longer. Shino and Kurenai stayed a bit longer as well, but even they had to leave.

Soon, only Kiba was left. His eyes never let Naruto's still form, still covered in bandages, even after 3 months of healing by Tsunade. It was unearthly to see the blonde this still. The brunette would be beyond happy to see some movement. A twitch of a finger would make him feel so much better. But there was nothing. It just wasn't…_right_. Naruto would have been in the exact same position he had been in when he had been admitted had it not been for the nurses and physical therapists occasionally stretching what muscles they could to prevent atrophy and bed sores. Kiba doubted that the blonde would even be breathing if it wasn't for the tubes attached to his nose and down his throat.

That thought made his heart clench. Naruto passing away without Kiba even getting a chance to say a simple "sorry" was beyond his comprehension, even though Kiba knew no amount of excuses were going to wash away all the damage done. Some friend he was.

He vaguely acknowledged Ino and Chōji entering the room.

"How is he?" Ino's soft voice was easily heard over the beeping machines.

Kiba resisted the urge to hit something but answered in a gruff voice. "The same as yesterday and the day before that…"

Ino shifted uncomfortably to her left foot and bit her lip nervously. Chōji hadn't said a word, but what was there to say? This whole situation was too morbid and made his stomach twist. Finally, Kiba couldn't take it anymore.

"Damn it!" Kiba's outburst drew the attention of everyone in the room. "How could this have happened? I should have fucking known something wasn't right. I _knew_ something wasn't right, yet I didn't do anything! And now that damn _Uchiha_ is still out there and Naruto is laying there! I should have nailed that bastard when I had the chance."

By this point, tears were streaming down Kiba's cheeks. Ino stepped forward to comfort the brunette, sadness flashing in her eyes. "Kiba…"

Kiba didn't hear her. "What kind of friend am I? I mean, I know we haven't always been on the best of terms, but I had thought we had developed some kind of friendship, especially after the academy…but I guess not if I couldn't even see through this!" Blood dripped down his hands from how hard he was clinching his hands together. His shoulders shook and a sob shook his frame. "It's not right. It's just not right. Naruto should be walking around with that stupid grin on his face. It's just so…wrong for him to be this still. _How can anyone be that still?_" That last part was whispered softly.

Ino couldn't help but stare at Kiba. Never had she seen the brunette breakdown before and it brought tears to her own eyes. She wanted to comfort him. She just didn't see how she could in this situation. Surprisingly, it was Chōji that tried.

"We all made a mistake…and it's our job to try and fix it." His voice was soft but confident.

Kiba's head snapped towards him, his eyes red and narrow. "How are we going to fix this? How the hell can this be fixed? It can't!" he yelled.

Chōji looked at him, his eyes not wavering in the slightest. "We will fix this, Kiba."

Kiba snorted shakily. "Tell me Chōji. If you were accused of something you didn't do and then _tortured_ for a year by the ones you called 'friend', would you forgive them?" When Chōji said nothing, his shoulders sunk and he took one last look at Naruto. "I thought so." With that, Kiba left without another word.

Ino sighed and glanced at Naruto before following after Kiba. If she didn't, she was sure he would do something stupid. Chōji stared at the figure in the bed a while longer before whispering a sorrowful "Sorry" and leaving himself. He needed to see the Hokage about joining the search for the Uchiha.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

The hospital in Konoha was buzzing with life as nurses and doctors ran from room to room taking care of patients. Shikamaru walked into the building, a normal bored look on his face, but his eyes shined with something else. A vase of flowers was clasped in his hand. Ino noticed that the flowers she had sent last week were dying and wanted him to put more in Naruto's room. He guessed it was her coping mechanism.

Out the corner of his eye he could see one of the nurses speaking to a woman, two young kids clinging fearfully to her dress. Suddenly, she broke out in tears and began weeping in to her hands. Shikamaru could see the look on the nurses' faces, they were all of sadness and remorse. His heart ached for that family and he could only hope that he wasn't on the receiving end of news like that anytime soon.

Knowing where to go already, he passed the receptionist's desk and headed to the 5th floor, where all of the ICU's coma patients were. He wasn't surprised when he ran in to Team 7's captain at the stairs. The white-haired man had a worn look on his face, and even the mask he normally wore couldn't hide it.

They greeted each other and made their way up the stairs. Shikamaru noticed that the man didn't have his book with him for once. That wasn't surprising to Shikamaru though. He hadn't seen the man with it since that horrible night three months ago.

"It's nice of you to bring flowers." Kakashi said, trying to make small talk.

Shikamaru could only nod. "Ino wanted me to bring them."

"Hm, he should like those. If I remember correctly, they're his favorite kind of flower."

Shikamaru took another look at the flowers. They were an orange color and kind of looked like lilies. He vaguely remembered Ino telling him the name of them, but he hadn't really been paying attention to what she was saying. He complained about why she couldn't bring them herself. She simply told him that she had volunteered to join the next party of the "search and capture" mission. Chōji had also signed up and Neji hadn't stopped going out since Tsunade had first issued the missions. He didn't blame him. The Hyūga had taken what Sasuke had done to heart. He was determined to hunt down the Sharingan user.

The Nara broke out of his reverie when he noticed that they were in front of Naruto's room. The door was always shut and Tsunade had personally put trustworthy ANBU to guard the blonde's room. The ones currently guarding the door quickly observed them from behind their masks before stepping aside. Kakashi nodded at the guards and stepped forward to open the door. Eyes wide, he quickly turned towards the guards.

"Go get the Godaime!"

Shikamaru's eyes widened at the command and the ANBU disappeared without a word. What was wrong? Did something happen to the blonde? His heart raced and his breathing increased. He maneuvered so that he was in the room, in front of Kakashi. His heart nearly stopped as he took in the scene.

The gifts were still placed around the room. The windows were still intact and everything else was neatly placed where it belonged, but the sheets on the bed were hanging slightly off and the breathing tube was lying carelessly on the floor.

He didn't register the sound of the vase that was formerly in his hand shattering on the marble floor, or the consistent beeping of the machines in the room.

He could only register the fact that the person who was supposed to be in a deep sleep was now sitting up in bed wide awake. Blue eyes that were previously hidden behind shut eyelids stared blankly back at him.

"_Naruto?_"

* * *

**Author Note: **As much as I love reviews, I won't beg for them this time...

...

But I will ask nicely,

**Please review! **I really like the feedback I get. They're so inspiring.

~_XxKageTenshixX_


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note:** I'm so sorry it took so long to get this out! I wanted to have these chapters out before November, but, I kept forgetting to work on them or I had a little writer's block. So I decided that I wouldn't post anything until I had at least 3 chapters written out on all of my stories that I planned on putting up here. That way, when I have a hold up (Which I will) I will already have the chapter written out for you guys!

And just like I promised, I will be putting up two chapters for you is chapter 6, I will be posting chapter 7 until tomorrow. Don't worry, the chapter is already written out and revised. All I have to do is post it. They aren't as long as I hoped they would be, but hopefully, they are good enough for you.

**Pay attention closely!** For any of you who are, even though I have said it before, still worried, this is **NOT** a yaoi! The whole "Sasuke obsessed with Naruto thing" was strictly so that I could make him a tad bit crazier than he is at the present moment.

Now, I would like to thank my awesome beta **_TenchiSolutionsForAll_**. You have done a wonderful job yet again with the revision and I am very thankful for your help.

Now, I would like to thank all of those who have added **_The Darkness That Binds Him_** to their Alerts and Favorites.

And a special thanks to: **_Silver Frostwolf, fullhouses, Haseo55, Evil Lemon Demon, chrisgetsu45, Hells Mercenary, KamilahKaliope, stormingnight, watcingtherain1, toolazytomakeanaccount, Boxerdogtessa, roboguy45, MzHellokitty, viscious aggression 101, femaleJoey, Akuzetsu, festa1984, Addictive Label, Merhabi Dreamthief, Creepy Quiet Kid, NaRu3kYbI, Rialga, Deathmvp, Patriot-112, ||Kairi ||, Lili, bondy beaver, Leigha, jonnlynn, satako-san, kma3000, Naruto13, iamtehg, joe361436, Death Incarnate, Laine Sqirrel, Shadowkiller13, GreenEggsN'Ham, UraHime Hikaru, Atomic-Diamonds-Afterimage, Chi Vayne, HoodFox 3, TheDogSage, mattcun, MindMaster, Mystic 6 tailed Naruto, Shining-Dreamer, miner249er, Michelangelos-girl-5, PlasmaMelonXD, Dark spirits, Heliosion, Strike Lion, Zolow95, rescue 007, BattleCharger, Stazzy241, d unknown, crazie194, NekoTora243, Imortal Carnage, and anyone else that I missed_** for reviewing!

Now, I would like to present the 6th chapter of **The Darkness That Binds Him**. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

Shikamaru watched as the nurse shuffled around the room before finally checking the vitals of the blonde that sat quietly in the bed placed across from the window.

Only a few weeks had passed since the blonde had awaked. Since his awakening, the blonde had not moved from his position on the bed. He didn't even acknowledge anything or anyone that tried to draw his attention. He simply stared out the window by his bed. Shikamaru doubted that the blonde had even slept at all.

The only comfort he got was that Naruto could breathe on his own instead of relying on the breathing tubes. However, not even that was enough. Shikamaru wanted the blonde to look at him, to speak to him, to yell or even scream at him, even if all that was directed at him were angry words. Shikamaru didn't care. He just wanted things to change.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

"_Naruto?"_

_Naruto didn't respond. Naruto continued to stare at him before slowly turning to the window. Shikamaru took a shaky step forward, waiting for what obviously had to be a genjutsu to dispel and for reality to come back to him, but the scene in front of him did not waver. This was real._

_It didn't matter that his heart was pounding within his chest or that it felt as if someone was squeezing the hell out of it. It didn't matter that those eyes, those bright and radiant blue eyes, reflected nothing in them but simply stared back at him blank and empty, dead to the world. All that mattered now was that Naruto was _awake_._

_Kakashi stood rooted in place. He told the ANBU standing guard in the hallway to alert the Hokage of the change in the blonde's status. Kakashi knew Tsunade would want to be notified that Naruto had woken up, but he himself was not sure he wanted to be here right now. Kakashi was or course overjoyed that the blonde was finally awake from his near four month coma, but Kakashi was not sure if he was ready to face his student just yet. Not after everything he had done. _

_Kakashi's one visible eye glistened with sadness as he watched Shikamaru try to get a reaction from the blonde, only to fail miserably. The Nara heir was on the verge of a breakdown as he continued to get no response from the formerly hyperactive blonde. Kakashi desperately wanted to help but his shame would not let him. _

_In his many years of active service as a shinobi of Konoha, Kakashi had seen many cases, most of which he wish he could forget, of ninja who have gone through severe traumatic experiences. Many of which those ninja never recovered. Many of those experiences were repulsively similar to Naruto's. Of those ninja only one had recovered, and even then he was plagued by the nightmares that came with it. _

_Tsunade swiftly came into the room, and wasted no time checking on Naruto. Shizune wasn't far behind her, but chose to stay near Kakashi and Shikamaru as she worked. As with Shikamaru, Naruto didn't respond to her, still favoring staring blankly out the window. Tsunade frowned but continued working. She checked all his vitals: temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, and a few other essential readings before standing upright. Her brows were furrowed together in deep thought, maybe even worry. Shikamaru was the first to break the stifling silence._

"_What's wrong with him?" _

_Tsunade didn't answer at first but finally replied hesitantly. "I know that you have never had to deal with situations like this yet but even I know you know what going on." She closed her eyes. "He's suffering from a severe mental breakdown that has resulted in him retreating into a catatonic state. I can't say how long he will stay like this, or even if he ever will snap out of it. It all depends on him," She said mournfully._

_Shikamaru's shoulders slumped. Kakashi heaved a heavy sigh, his voice shaky as he replied. _

"_I...I think I'll go let Iruka know. He's been wanting to visit for a while now." Kakashi couldn't think of anything else to say so he simply left, head down in reflection._

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

Naruto still hadn't shown any signs of life since then. Although it was a relief to many that the blonde was finally awake, Iruka couldn't help but wonder if it would have been better if Naruto had stayed in that coma.

Iruka loved Naruto as if he was his own son, which was one of the reasons why as soon as he had heard that Naruto had awoken, he had filed for custody, like he should have done all those years ago when he first met Naruto. Tsunade hadn't questioned his actions and had approved of it.

It was also because of the love that Iruka had for Naruto that made him question if Naruto wanted to live his life like this.

Naruto had always been a bright child. Maybe not in his studies or when it came to answering simple pen and paper tests, but Naruto was smart when it came to real life situations. How else would he have been able to live on his own for all those years? Naruto was always optimistic, and he never let what others say bring him down. If anything, it only served to encourage him to try harder. Naruto was always a bundle of joy that Iruka was happy to be around. The possibility that all that would be gone…it felt like something had been ripped out of Iruka, leaving him with a hole in his chest that he swore was bleeding.

Naruto had been through so much during his wrongful incarceration. It was no surprise that when Naruto was imprisoned, Iruka cut off all interaction with the others. They were the ones that had accused his sweet son of doing…doing _that_. It was their fault that Naruto was now like this.

Iruka could feel his jaw clench tight and his hands slowly close into fists. He, along with the Sand Siblings, Konohamaru's group, and Teuchi and Ayame, the owners of Ichiraku Ramen (the place Iruka often thought of as Naruto's home away from home) were the only ones that believed in Naruto's innocence. Surprisingly, even Sai had believed in Naruto.

Gaara had visited as soon as he had learned what had happened and, in what can only be considered a MASSIVE understatement, was not happy. Iruka had been on his way to see the Hokage any way to talk some sense into her when he heard them talking. Gaara had demanded to know what Tsunade was thinking for locking Naruto away. Tsunade had tried to explain that even though she didn't want to believe it herself, all the evidence pointed to Naruto. The young Kazekage quickly, and loudly, stated what he thought of the so called "evidence" and left, but not before telling her how much of an idiot she and Naruto's friends were for believing in such lies.

The relationship between Konohagakure and Sunagakure had suffered badly as a result, and was now barely intact. Konoha's other relationships with Wave and Snow was now none existent, choosing to solely rely on the other and Sunagakure to get what they needed. If it hadn't been for a few necessities, and he did mean few, Suna had to import from Konoha, Iruka was sure that Gaara would have cut off all ties before leaving Tsunade's office that day. Iruka himself wished that he could leave this village full of idiots, but the thought of Naruto waking up and not having anyone to turn to kept him here. He just couldn't abandon his former student.

Konohamaru and his group got into fights with the other kids of the village, sometimes even the older ones, whenever they would say anything negative about Naruto. To protest, the scope of their pranks knew no limits, and they became somewhat more liberal with their willingness to target people who they heard praise the decision to imprison Naruto. Teuchi and Ayame would throw out any costumers that spoke badly of Naruto in their shop. It brought a smile to Iruka's face to know that people, even if was just a few, had believed in Naruto's innocence from the beginning.

With a sigh, Iruka looked up from his seat and settled his gaze on his catatonic student. His only wish was that everything would turn out okay in the end.

A knock on the door drove him from his depressing thoughts. The door opened after a moment's hesitation and Sakura and Tsunade came in to the room. Sakura looked like a bigger mess than she had been lately. Tsunade nodded her head at Iruka in a polite but formal greeting. Iruka gave a stiff nod back only because it would be rude for him to not give some show of respect to his leader. He politely ignored Sakura when she looked his way. Frankly, being in the same room as them made his stomach churn, but he endured it for Naruto's sake. He didn't want to leave Naruto alone in the same room as them.

He sighed in irritation and watched with narrowed eyes as the Hokage checked over Naruto for the hundredth time that day. Iruka didn't see what the purpose was; it was the same results every time and only served as a reminder that all of this was their fault.

Sakura stood by the door, almost reluctant to go anywhere near the blonde, for which Iruka was glad. At least one of the main reasons had sense enough to stay away from his adopted son.

Iruka knew that his attitude towards things had changed drastically in the past few months. He didn't go out much now, or spend time with others unless he had to. He was more quiet and reserved than he used to be. He also wasn't stupid. He knew this was some kind of sick, "fool-proof" plan concocted by the Uchiha to get Naruto on his side. So far, Iruka thought that the plan was working.

Tsunade finished checking Naruto and declared that there was no change. She ignored the scoff from Iruka and motioned for Sakura to leave. When they were alone, she sighed before turning and facing Iruka.

"I know you're upset, Iruka, we all are, but you don't have—"

"Upset? I'm more that upset!" Iruka stood from his chair, teeth clenched tightly. He didn't care that this was his leader. He would rather be damned for eternity than put up with this any longer. "You don't have the right to tell me what to do! Not after this. _Never_ after this! Naruto trusted you! He believed that you would know him as well as he knew you, and you betrayed him! For God's sake, how could any of you have believed him capable of that?"

Tsunade's gaze didn't waver as he yelled at her.

"I don't care about Sasuke Uchiha. I don't care that he was the one to plan all this! I DO care that the people closest to Naruto didn't seem to know him at all, and didn't care enough to know that he could have never done something like this! None of you even thought twice about it! You locked him away in that pit for a year, and now I may never have him back!"

Iruka stifled a sob as angry tears began to flow from his eyes. Tsunade averted her eyes, trying not to cry herself.

"I knew about it."

Iruka looked up, confusion clear in his eyes.

"There was a report…of someone near his cell. No one was ever clear on who it was, they always wore a cloak. I didn't think much of it then, just like I disregarded…the things…that were done to him in there. I always _knew_, but I didn't want to acknowledge it. I couldn't handle finding out that _that_ had happened, so I acted like nothing did. I couldn't handle it, I still can't. Especially now that I know that all of this could have been prevented."

Iruka didn't say anything. Tsunade stared at him sadly.

"I know you can't forgive me—"

"Forgive you?" He whispered.

"I never meant—"

"Don't." Iruka's voice was strained. He felt like hitting her, hitting something, hitting ANYTHING, but he managed to restrain himself. "Just, don't."

Tsunade watched as Iruka, still stiff with fury, turned to the door. "It's not me who you should be apologizing to. I hope he has the strength to forgive you…for _his_ sake, not yours."

Iruka stormed out the room, barely holding on to his composure by his fingernails. He couldn't believe what he had heard! Whether she chose to admit it to the others or not, the fact remained that Tsunade knew what was happening to Naruto in that hellhole all along. Iruka's sight began turning red with rage.

The Uchiha had played the village, and like the idiots they were, they fell right into his hands. Iruka hated Sasuke with a passion and swore that if he ever saw his previous student again, he'd kill him. As slowly and painfully as possible. Not because it would make him feel better, but because the Uchiha deserved it.

* * *

**Author Note:** Please **_review_**! 'Cause I know I want you!

~_XxKageTenshixX_


	7. Chapter 7

**Author Note:** Sorry this is a couple of days late, I kinda don't have any internet right now. For some reason I just can never seem to get these chapters posted when I say I'm going to. But, alas, here is the other chapter and I hope you enjoy!

I want to thank my awesome beta _**TenchiSolutionsForAll**_ for doing another wonderful job yet again on the edits for this chapter! I owe you a lot for your hard work!

I want to give a great "Thank you" to all of you who have joined along and added _**The Darkness That Binds Him**_ to their Alerts and Favorites.

_And a special, super "Thank you" to: __**Heliosion, Imortal Carnage, stormingnight, miner249er, Patriot-112, BattleCharger, Rialga, Addictive Label, slatedfox, myroseyangel, Blood Brandy, Zolow95, Sassy618, SneakyDaemon, femaleJoey, Mystic 6 tailed Naruto, Diablo200030002002, Boxerdogtessa, roboguy45, EgotisticalxTurtle, Inu- Neko Ayumi, SilverKnight17, fullhouses, XxStarLitxX, bankai777, Sleepless Demon, hanipman, Haseo55, Shining-Dreamer, Ike574, || Kairi ||, Evil Lemon Demon, satako-san, Ancantsia, GreenEggsN'Ham, Deathmvp, Metabolica, coyote86401, Lili, NeckoFury, mermaidangel123, KamilahKaliope, shadowreploid and anyone else that I missed**_ for reviewing!

P.S. _**roboguy45**_, I fixed your name in the last chapter! Sorry again for the mistake.

Oh, yeah...Thank you guys so much! This story has hit over the 200 review mark! I'm happy that you guys find this story so entertaining, because most of it is really just some thrown together thoughts. I did think of the plot from another fanfiction that I happened to read, but for the life of me, I can't remember what the name of it was or who it was by.

For any of you who still have questions, please feel free to ask away!

Now, I would like to present the 7th chapter of **The Darkness That Binds Him**. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7

"How is he?"

Inoichi looked up from his spot next to the bed and shook his head at the Godaime. Ino was on the other side of the bed, her eyes closed in concentration. Turning to observe the scene before her, Tsunade sighed.

She had called in Inoichi and Ino to try and bring Naruto out of his current state. It had been the only thing Tsunade could think of to help Naruto. She thought that the Yamanaka family, with their mind walking abilities, might be able to draw the blonde out of his unresponsive state. However, not even that seemed to be working.

It seemed that Naruto's physical body had healed greatly over the past three weeks, all without the help of the Kyūbi. However, his mind had shown no progress. Of course, Tsunade hadn't expected otherwise. The mind was a tricky organ and damage done to it, both physical and emotional, was problematic to put it simply. She could only take comfort in the fact that most of the broken bones and factures had healed completely and the bruises were gone. She still worried about the damage that the concussions and internal bleeding had caused but that could only be dealt with once Naruto awoke from his catatonia. Right now, she had to focus on the stability of his mind before she could heal it.

"There still isn't a change in his psyche," Inoichi reported to the Hokage. Tsunade nodded absently and waited for him to continue. "It's…strange. Usually I am able to locate a person's consciousness, even one that's regressed due to severe trauma. This…I can't seem to get through into his consciousness at all. It's almost as if he wasn't in there at all."

Tsunade's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

Inoichi leaned back against the wall and focused his eyes on the blonde Hokage. "Someone who has gone through any kind of trauma can block out the world around them and draw into themselves. If that trauma is too much for that person, they can, in a sense, put up a mental barrier to protect themselves from the outside world. You mostly find it in those subjected to torture on a massive and prolonged scale. Their consciousness, no matter how deeply buried, still leaves traces that it had once been there. Sometimes the consciousness takes the shape of whatever is the cause of its current withdrawn state. With Naruto," Inoichi's somber eyes found Naruto's blank ones. "There isn't a single trace of him whatsoever. A body without a soul is the first thing that comes to mind."

Tsunade's eyes widened at this alarming news. "Do you think the Kyūbi is the cause of it?"

Inoichi ran a hand through his bangs and sighed. "I don't know. I have no experience with the minds of those who contain a Bijuu, so I cannot say for sure. So, there is a possibility that the Kyūbi is responsible."

Tsunade nodded and turned her attention to the blonde patient. She vaguely wondered how Jiraiya would have acted if he was still alive. Tsunade smiled sadly. He would have been furious if he had known what had become of his godson after he left. He definitely would have been disappointed in her for her actions.

A small grunt pulled her from her thoughts. Looking up, Ino collapsed in the chair behind her, a tired expression on her face. One look at the young Yamanaka's face gave Tsunade as answer to her question before she even asked it.

"I take it you didn't have any luck either."

Ino shook her head, never looking up at Tsunade. "No. Whatever is keeping us out isn't wavering at all."

Tsunade sighed and looked out one of the windows. "Both of you have done enough for today. You can go home." She turned to leave when Ino stopped her.

"If I could, Lady Tsunade, I would like to stay. Maybe there is something I can figure out," Ino stated, determination showing clearly in her voice.

Tsunade smiled a little at the underlying message. Most of Naruto's friends were taking turns watching over him. She guessed they were blaming themselves as much as she was blaming herself. With a nod at the younger Yamanaka, she took her leave. Inoichi patted his daughter's head in sympathy and followed Tsunade out the door.

"Do you think it is wise to let them get their hopes up?"

"Even in the worst of times, it is good for them to hold up their hopes." Tsunade said without hesitation.

Inoichi looked warily at the Hokage. "I understand that, but I don't want my daughter to suffer any more than she already has if things don't work out. There is only a very small chance that he will even regain consciousness, much less fully recover."

Tsunade looked through an open doorway at a family that was in one of the hospital rooms. A small smile crept onto her face when she saw a father lying in a bed holding his children.

"She will hurt more if she doesn't keep her hopes up. All of us want to redeem ourselves for what we've done to Naruto. Though that idea is virtually impossible, this is the only way we can do that, at least for now." She paused and looked at Inoichi from the corner of her eye. "You would too if he was a friend of yours."

Inoichi looked at Tsunade, his face serious. "It doesn't matter if he was a friend of mine. Though I may not have been violent towards Naruto when he was growing up, I didn't help him when he needed it either. I should have been more caring to the son of one of my deceased friends and leader."

Tsunade came to an abrupt stop and turned to look at the older Yamanaka in shock. "How do you—"

Inoichi raised an eyebrow. "Please don't group me in with the villagers. I might not be as smart as Shikaku, but even I can see the resemblance between Naruto and his parents. I was good friends with both Minato and Kushina before they passed away." His voice was so low that only she could hear it.

Tsunade stared at him. "How many others know of this?"

Inoichi shrugged. "Besides Shikaku and Chōza? I have no idea. However, rest assured that if no one has figured it out by now, they never will."

Tsunade nodded hesitantly and turned back around.

Inoichi watched her as she walked away. "Lady Hokage." Tsunade stopped but didn't turn to face him. "I can't help but wonder how things would have been if everyone had known the truth."

Everyone around them had stopped to look at the two. A few people inside the room were even peeking out to see what was going on. Inoichi watched Tsunade stand there for a moment before her shoulders lifted slightly then slumped down slightly when she sighed.

"I guess we'll never know." Inoichi watched Tsunade as she continued walking down the hall until she turned a corner and left his sight. The people around him lingered for a few seconds out of curiosity before moving on. Taking one last look back at Naruto's hospital room, Inoichi left.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

Hinata entered the room shyly. Her eyes never left the tiled floor and never looked at the boy in the bed. Ino looked up slowly before giving her a pained smile. The dark haired girl could only give a nod of her head in return.

"Has there been any change?" Hinata's voice was soft but oddly steady instead of the stuttering that was usually present.

Ino shook her head sadly. "No, no change."

Pupiless eyes finally moved upwards to look at the blonde in the bed. She couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. She couldn't see the extent of his injuries, and for that she was glad. How would she react if she knew the hell that her crush had suffered?

It was no secret that Hinata held a crush on Naruto, so when he had been…locked up, she had been depressed for weeks. At first, she couldn't believe it. How could her Naruto have done such a thing? Yes, she was aware of his crush on his teammate Sakura, but the blonde was honorable, sweet, and determined to make people see him for who he was. Never would he do something like that. For weeks she denied it. For weeks she stepped out of her shy shell to speak up against people who thought otherwise. She didn't care if they had DNA evidence, or if the chakra signature belonged to him. It just couldn't have been him that had done those heinous things!

But like a fool she let others push their thoughts on her. One day her father had said some vile things about Naruto and she quickly told him how she thought of the blonde; that he was an honorable shinobi that had been accused of a wrong. Needless to say, her father didn't approve. Since then, she hadn't stepped up and defended Naruto like she used to, but she never once believed what people thought of him.

And she had regretted that decision more than anything. Maybe if she had kept pressing Naruto's innocence, like Iruka and Teuchi had, things would have worked out better. The day she, Shino, and TenTen had come back from a mission in one of the bordering villages had returned just to find out that all they thought they knew about what had happened that horrible day was a lie. That it was all the Uchiha's doing.

That stung more than anything. What the village had done to him could never be forgiven. But what she had _failed_ to do was even more unforgivable. No matter how hard they tried, Naruto would never forgive them. And she…if she couldn't even stand by him when everyone was against him, she didn't think she deserved to forgiven.

Walking slowly towards the bed, she gently touched Naruto's hand. His hand was so pale and cold, it made her heart hurt. Slowly she knelt by his bed and poured her heart out. Sorrow and regret laced her cries as she wept over her once friend and crush.

Ino watched with teary eyes of her own. Without any conscious thought, she stood and positioned her hand in the Ram sign. Closing her eyes, she pushed her consciousness into the mind of the catatonic blonde. She had failed to get a result before, but the sight of Hinata crying made her even more determined. Everyone wanted Naruto returned to them and she wouldn't fail them.

"Release!" her voice sounded out before her body collapsed into the chair behind her.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

Opening her eyes slowly, Ino looked around her at her "surroundings". The familiar darkness told her that the jutsu had worked. She was once again inside Naruto's mind. Waiting patiently, she finally spotted the cracked walkway as it materialized in front of her. Every mind had a pathway that led to different parts of the subject's mind. She had never been in Naruto's mind before the incident, but she knew that his walkway shouldn't be as dull and fading as it was.

Carefully she took a step onto the walkway, making sure not to step on the large cracks that ran across the walkway. She had seen them before, but they still hurt her. Cracks in a person's mental walkway meant a moment of great trauma. The bigger and more numerous the cracks, the less repairable the person's mind. With mounting distress, Ino noted that the cracks seemed to have gotten bigger than her last attempted mind walk.

Pale blue eyes searched for any sign of the blonde's soul. Seeing none, she continued on the path. She stopped when she came to the barrier that had previously kept both her and her father out. Placing her hands on the barrier hurt, but it wasn't anything that she hadn't felt before. Focusing her chakra into her palms, she once again tried pushing her way inside. As before, nothing happened. She tried again with the same results. Tears of frustration clouded her eyes. Banging her fists against the barrier, she gave an angry cry.

"WHY WON'T YOU OPEN!?"

Although she hoped for some answer or sign, as expected nothing happened.

Dropping her hands, she lowered her eyes to stare at the cracks. She didn't get it. She couldn't get in and she couldn't sense any other presence in here. She refused to believe that the blonde had had such a mental breakdown that he just didn't exist anymore in his own mind. It wasn't possible…

Suddenly, Ino heard a sharp "CRACK" sound above her. Jumping in surprise, Ino looked up to see a crack in the barrier. Her eyes narrowed in confusion until another crack appeared near the first one. Then another…and another…and another.

Pieces fell from the barrier until there was nothing left. Her heart skipped a beat in excitement. The barrier was gone! She could finally get through and search for her friend. Carefully she took a step forward, searching the new area with cautious eyes.

She didn't see any difference. "_Maybe…maybe Naruto's consciousness just doesn't exist anymore. Maybe it was all too much for him. Maybe we were too late and he's gone." _Ino thought to herself in a panic. Wiping away the tears that clouded her eyes, Ino trudged onwards, further and further into the abyss. She refused to think like that! She was going to find him, no matter what.

Suddenly, the sound of laughter ahead of her in the darkness.

Ino stopped, unsure of the laughter's meaning. "Hello?"

More laughter met her ears. An orange blur appeared to her left but when she turned, there was nothing there.

"…N-N-Naruto? Are you there?" she called out. The darkness and the laughter were beginning to unnerve her. How could one exist with the other? Suddenly the orange blur shone in front of her, the light from it blinding her. When she opened her eyes again, she sucked in a startled breath.

A boy was in front of her. He looked young, maybe around 5 years old. His white shirt and orange shorts were torn in several places and he was covered in dirt. What shook Ino the most was his dirtied blonde hair and curious sky blue eyes. The boy stared at her, almost as if he was considering whether or not she was a threat.

"Who are you?" His voice was cold, but his eyes still held that childish curiosity.

"Naruto? Is that you?" Ino took a step forward. The boy's eyes widened in alarm before he turned around and ran back into the darkness. "Wait!" she called, desperate to stop him from fleeing. She ran after him as fast as she could. She still couldn't believe that she had found him, she had finally found him!

"Naruto!"

He wouldn't stop and she pushed her legs harder to catch him. If she didn't catch him now, she might lose him forever! She was so focused on catching the child version of her friend that Ino never noticed the red eyes that peered at her from the inky darkness.

Suddenly, the blonde haired child turned towards her. The curiosity in his eyes gone, the color turned from azure sky to icy blue. Malice seemed to radiate off the child. A shiver went down Ino's spine. She realized that something else was here with them.

Looking around herself, Ino realized that she had strayed from the mental pathway. Her stomach twisted when she looked back at the child in front of her. A cruel but empty smile appeared on his lips. Her vision began to fade and blur into the blackness that surrounded her.

"You have no right being here!" His voice was just as cold as his eyes and his smile, but it held an undertone to it…almost as if it wasn't Naruto that was speaking to her.

"Wha—?"

Her legs gave out and she sank to her knees. Everything was turning black. She looked back up and saw red eyes peering at her from behind the blonde. The last thing she saw was both pairs of eyes glaring down at her.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

"Ino!"

Ino sat up, gasping for breath. Looking around frantically, she realized that she was back in Naruto's hospital room and her own body. Holding her head in her hands, she tried to calm her racing heartbeat. What the hell was that?

"I-Ino? Are you okay?" Ino looked up to see Hinata hovering over her worriedly. Nodding her head, Ino stood on shaky legs and looked at the blonde in the bed. He was still staring blankly out the window, like he had been doing ever since he had woken up.

"What the hell was that?" Ino whispered to herself. She had never felt such a suffocating presence before. Another shiver went down her spine. Whatever it was, she hoped she never had to face it again.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

Tsunade looked at the chart in her hands and sighed. Sakura stood near the door, never going near her teammate's bed. The guilt kept her from approaching him. Kakashi and Shikamaru waited patiently behind their Hokage, each of them wondering why their leader had called them there.

"I've decided that Naruto is to be released from the hospital," she said slowly.

Kakashi was the first to speak. "Is that wise? In his condition…" He trailed off, hoping she would understand.

"His condition isn't improving with him sitting in this damn room! Maybe a change of scenery will help. Frankly, I don't know what else to do." Tsunade's frustration was obvious to all. It was the same frustration they all felt.

It was quiet for a while before Shikamaru cautiously voiced his question.

"Why have you called us here?"

Tsunade didn't say anything at first. "Iruka came to me when Naruto was first admitted…he wanted to adopt Naruto and oversee his care personally." She could see the blunt surprise on their faces. "I thought you'd want to know."

They could understand that. Iruka had made it perfectly clear that he despised them all for what they had done to Naruto. If Naruto was going to be put into his care, they doubted they would be able to see the blonde anytime soon, if at all.

"Sensei, are you sure that's a good idea?" Sakura spoke for the first time since they had arrived in the room. Her voice was soft and hesitant.

Tsunade looked at them. "Iruka is the best person for the job. I don't want to hear another word about it." Her voice held a finality that kept them from arguing further. They were so busy with their own thoughts, none of them noticed the person in the window until it was too late.

"I think I would make a great babysitter for the dobe..."

Sakura, Kakashi, and Shikamaru tensed for a moment before quickly taking a protective stance around the bed. Tsunade spun around towards the window, her eyes hard and full of rage when she recognized the owner of that voice.

There was Sasuke, crouched down in the windowsill. He observed them coldly, a smirk forming on his pale face when he saw Naruto. Swiftly, he stepped into the room.

"Don't you think?"

* * *

**Author Note:** ...well...

**_Review!_**

_~XxKageTenshixX_


	8. Chapter 8

**Author Note:** I'm back! (After a couple of months). I was longer than expected, as I am most of the time. I went back and edited chapter 2. That prison scene at the beginning was a little too much for me, so I took it out.

In light of what all is happening on this site, (from what I have gathered from the people who have explained it to me) I have taken the liberty and made and **_AdultFanFiction_**, _**YourFanFiction**_ and_**LiveJournal**_ account. So in case they do decide to delete my stories, you can go to either one and look up these stories. The user names for all three is **_XxKageTenshixX. I advise you to look me up if you already have one of_ _these!_** I didn't make a Tumblr because I couldn't figure out how to work it. I have already posted chapter 1 of this story on LJ and YFF, I haven't gotten to AFF yet and won't until later on today. All present chapters will updated on these sites by the end of the week.

Now, I want to thank my awesome beta _**TenchiSolutionsForAll**_ for doing another wonderful job yet again on the edits for this chapter! The revisions we fantastic!

I also want to give a great "Thank you" to all of you who have joined along and added _**The Darkness That Binds Him**_ to their Alerts and Favorites.

And a special thanks to: **_BattleCharger, Metabolica, roboguy45, Cobra0000, Sleepless Demon, Stazzy241, not to good, femaleJoey, bankai777, Inu- Neko Ayumi, Haseo55, Dia-chan93, NeckoFury, Deathmvp, Mystic 6 tailed Naruto, Shining-Dreamer, Eh, satako-san, Selkadoom13, xdevil-childx, GreenEggsN'Ham, Silver Frostwolf, Imortal Carnage, Michelangelos-girl-5, slatedfox, Classified, Lili, justareader07, EgotisticalxTurtle, Rialga, Sassy618, Patriot-112, KamilaKalope, Evil Lemon Demon, Beginning of the End, LonelySoul, II Kairi II, TheDogSage, d unknown, Atomic-Diamonds-Afterimage, Shogun, Spottedleaves1, Foxfire, Sammywolfstar, HouseMD93, Amazingg15, karasu99, and jen937, and anyone else I__missed_** for reviewing!

I realized what a horrible person I am to leave you guys with a cliff-hanger like that, so with further delay, I present to you Chapter 8 of _**TDTBH.**_

* * *

Chapter 8

Moving swiftly, Kakashi and Tsunade took a protective stance in front of the younger shinobi while Shikamaru and Sakura both took a position that let them easily cover Naruto's bed from the immediate danger. Their eyes never left the Uchiha, and were wary for any movement. Sasuke, on the other hand, only continued to crouch on the windowsill. None of the occupants of the room moved, their bodies still and tense. Sasuke simply observed the scene, his eyes roaming over each of them in turn until his gaze landed upon eyes of an unusually discolored blue. The eyes were seemingly blank and empty as marbles except for a brief flash of recognition. Sasuke's smirk didn't falter as the empty blue eyes were replaced in his sight with the green of a jonin's vest.

Raising his eyes, Sasuke looked slightly bemused at the nerve of his former sensei daring to use the Sharingan against him. "How amusing."

Tsunade was the first to find her voice. "How dare you show your face here." Her voice was low and held both obvious venom and tension.

Sasuke tilted his head, feigning confusion. "I thought that you despised the dobe? After all, aren't you why he's like this? You allowed him to be slowly killed by that prison and those people because you couldn't deal with the guilt. Ha! If you had truly believed for a second that your precious grandson was innocent, you wouldn't have been so quick to condemn him." Shrugging his shoulders, he continued. "But that's Naruto for you. Always so trusting in his 'precious people'. Always so willing to put his well being in the hands of others." Black eyes looked mockingly at them. "And look what happens."

If possible, Tsunade's face lit up in even more fury. She subconsciously took a step forward. The Uchiha was fucking with them, hoping to use their guilty feelings against them.

Kakashi looked behind the Uchiha and out the window. He quickly noticed that the ANBU that were stationed around the building had yet to make an appearance. He looked at Sasuke. Sasuke sent him a knowing look.

"Oh, don't worry Kakashi-_sensei_. I made sure that we weren't going to be interrupted." He paused. "Though, I must admit I find it offensive that you think that a few mere ANBU would stand a chance against me. I thought you would have learned that lesson by now."

Thinking of possible ways of attack, Tsunade inwardly cursed at their predicament. They couldn't fight in a place so public and filled with the injured without severe consequences. She doubted that the Uchiha would be magnanimous enough to put his plans on hold so they could move to a more open area. She was betting that Kakashi was thinking the same thing.

"What do you want Sasuke?" Sasuke's smirk faded and turned into a glare aimed at Sakura. She and Shikamaru stood, kunai in hand, in front of Naruto. The pinkette stared unflinchingly back at him. Her body shook a little but she held her ground and didn't waver.

How very brave of her.

"You are of no value to me. I'm only here for Uzumaki." The smirk was back in full force now. "If you give him to me, I'll leave peacefully."

"Screw you!" The uncharacteristic curse that flew from Shikamaru's mouth surprised the other occupants in the room for a split second before the sound of laughter filled the room.

The crazed sound emitting from Sasuke's mouth sent chills down Sakura's spine, but she held her ground, never moving from her position beside Naruto.

As suddenly as the sound started, it abruptly stopped. The eerie quiet that followed set them on edge, uncertainty flowing through each of the Konoha shinobi.

"How can someone ignore the truth that's staring them straight in the face? You all go around swearing that you will stay with him and protect him from anything that would cause him harm. All of _you_ are what caused him to need protecting in the first place! I might have set everything into motion, but it was all of you who betrayed that oh so precious "trust" you claimed to have in him! All of you put him in that prison and left him there! You are the ones that put him in that hospital bed! All of _you_ betrayed him and his trust in you! He could never be in good hands being here with you."

A dark cloud seemed to fall on Sakura and the others as they listened. Sasuke continued on in his crazed rambling, ignoring the changing atmosphere in the room.

"He would be better off in my hands. I have always stuck by the dobe. Maybe not in the physical sense, but he has always followed me, chased after me, thought about me. I was the one who was there for him during his time of need after your betrayal. Of course he would be better off with me! After all, I _am_ both his rival and his best friend!"

If they couldn't see it before, they could all now definitely see the insanity that lay behind Sasuke's dark eyes. The smile that looked all the more crazed sent chills down Tsunade's spine as everything finally clicked in place.

"You..."

The whispered word was enough for Kakashi to look at Tsunade, his eyes wide in surprise. Confusion flashed over Sakura's face while Shikamaru's held a calculating look.

"Ah, you figured it out. You must feel so proud."

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura's uncertain voice seemingly hovered in the air, quavering with uncertainty.

Kakashi's voice was tense as he answered the unspoken question. "There were reports of an unidentified person in the cells. No one knew for sure who it was…"

"Are you telling me that there was a possible threat to the security of our prisons and no one bothered to do anything?" The accusation in Shikamaru's voice caused Tsunade to flinch.

"We…I didn't feel it was necessary."

"How could—?"

Sakura watched the scene in front of her with a strange sense of detachment. She watched as Shikamaru held on to his kunai with a grip so tight that his knuckles had turned white. She watched as her senseis, both new and old, stood stiffly before her in an attempt to protect the one that they had wronged. Like them, her body stood in a position that screamed that she would protect Naruto until her last breath… but her mind was whispering to her.

_"What right did they have to protect him? After all, if it hadn't been for them, if it hadn't been for YOU, Naruto wouldn't need protecting in the first place."_

Her mind felt off balance. She felt like the ground had just been yanked out from under her feet. She felt like she had entered some alternate reality that she couldn't for the life of her understand.

Her mind still addled, she ignored her instincts and took her eyes off of the threat in front of her for just a second. Not even a second, a mere blink of an eye, a puff of breath. Yet that moment would turn out to be a moment that would affect her for the rest of her life.

She watched with that same sense of detachment as the catatonic blonde, her precious teammate and her betrayed friend somehow moved and fell from the bed. The resounding thud that echoed in her mind seemed to still her thoughts and snap her back to reality. She quickly rushed to Naruto's aid, trying to steady him. She was so focused on her teammate that she forgot that she wasn't the only one in the room. She never acknowledged the surprised looks on her comrades' faces or the sick and knowing look on Sasuke's.

Her heart leapt in her chest in excitement. Naruto was finally moving on his own! He was responding to something in the room! For a split second, Sakura thought that it was her presence. Then she noticed that his movement weren't ones of steadying himself after months of immobilization but of an attempt to get away from her.

"Naruto?"

His eyes that were so empty and lifeless only a short time ago now held a hint of recognition in them. Her breath caught in her throat when she noticed just who he was looking at.

_No. No. No._

Her heart ached. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. Not after everything that had happened, not after everything that they had learned.

_Stop looking. Stop looking. Stop looking!_

"Naruto!" Her voice was desperate and pleading.

It was Sasuke! He was the cause of this! He was the reason why her teammate had fallen so far! She couldn't handle this too! She looked up at dark eyes that were ignoring everyone else in the room and trained on the diluted blue eyes across the room. She watched as the traitor moved from the window, raised his hand slightly from his side, and spoke with a tone so soft that if she had not known who had spoken she wouldn't have sensed the malicious intent behind it. She watched with a sick realization that things were never going to be the same after this.

"Naruto."

Several things happened in that moment.

In a fit a rage, Kakashi threw the kunai he was clutching at his former student. The kunai missing Tsunade by an inch as she launched herself at Sasuke, ignoring the danger that she was potentially placing the other occupants of the hospital in. Gathering her chakra, Tsunade aimed a fist at the Uchiha in an attempt to kill the traitor. Sasuke dodged all of the attacks, the smirk only increasing the absolute hatred in them to the point of seeing red. Tsunade paused and sent her leg into the air in a swift spin kick and swung her trailing arm around in a backhand punch when the kick missed. Sakura could only watch with tears in her eyes as she tightened her grip on Naruto when his struggles increased. Shikamaru rushed to help her subdue the blonde.

Sasuke avoided every attack that was sent his way without lifting a finger to attack. With every missed attack, Tsunade's rage grew even more. Kakashi attempted to keep up, but even with the Sharingan, he couldn't match Sasuke's movements. He tried to keep his anger under control, and was successful until Sasuke had the nerve to mention his Sensei.

"My my, failing both to protect his son and defeat the one who caused him harm. What would your Sensei say, Kakashi?"

Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek harshly. While Tsunade was a juggernaut of rage, he couldn't afford to fly off the deep end with her. He understood that Sasuke was just messing with them. He hadn't really come here to take Naruto. He came here to rub the truth in their faces, to make them feel so guilty that it took them off their guard and left them sleep deprived. Already the peace of the village had been disrupted by petty squabbles, and communication between some people had become strained or cut off completely. The relationships between the Hidden Villages were also on thin ice because of their actions. To some people, the guilt was eating them alive.

Shikamaru watched Sakura keep a strong grip on Naruto, even though his struggles had ceased and he was slipping back in to unconsciousness. Whatever the Uchiha had done, it had obviously caused a reaction from Naruto. While it wasn't one that Shikamaru would have liked, more like he hated it, he was sure that the next time Naruto woke, he would finally be back from whatever state he had hidden himself away in. Shikamaru looked up at Sakura's tear stained face and couldn't help but smile grimly.

He was sure that when Naruto did next awaken, he was going to hate all of them.

Sakura knew that the grip she held Naruto in was sure to leave bruises on his pale skin, but she didn't have the heart to let him go. She could hear furniture breaking, the numerous "Get Well" bouquets and presents that had been resting on the various tables and countertops in the room shattering. She vaguely wondered why no one had yet bothered to come and inspect the noises coming from the room but decided it was probably for the best. The last thing they needed was one of the civilian nurses coming in and getting hurt.

Looking up, she saw Sasuke dodge another swing from Tsunade and land crouched back on the windowsill. Tsunade didn't bother to attack him again, instead using that moment to calm herself and simply glare at the Uchiha.

The door swung open and Sasuke watched as Neji stood in the doorway, his Byakugan staring intently back at him.

"Uchiha!"

Sasuke looked at all of them closely, taking in their reactions. "How pathetic. You treat the legacy of the man you view as the hero of your village worse than you treat the dirt you walk on for years, but now you have the audacity to try and reconcile that wrong with some twisted sense of right? None of you should ever call me a traitor after everything you all have done."

Their eyes widened in shock, Kakashi's and Tsunade's for a whole different reason. How did he….

Sasuke's gaze shifted to the unconscious Naruto. "I will be back, and next time I will leave with what I came for." Then he was gone.

Tsunade closed her eyes, trying to calm her shaking body. She didn't bother to send anyone after Sasuke. She knew by now that if he didn't want to be caught, he wouldn't be.

Finally nurses and a few shinobi came running into the room, followed closely behind by Shizune. _'Funny, how they arrive after Sasuke has left.'_ Tsunade though, but she didn't dwell on it. Turning, she ignored the disbelieving and, in Sakura's case, slightly hurt, stares the three youngest shinobi were sending her. She passed a weary looking Kakashi and knelt beside Sakura to check on the blonde in her embrace. The sounds of orders being shouted by Shizune and the running of feet were muffled in her ears. She could only hear the soft sounds of her youngest student's voice beside her.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

* * *

**Author Note:** How was it? I will never know if you don't **_review_**!

_~XxKageTenshixX_


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note:** I'm finally back with the new chapter of this story. I have finished revising and editing chapters 1 through 9. They aren't any big changes that will affect the plot much, just taking out some things that were overkill and putting in some things that I forgot to put in previously.

To answer some of your questions about Wave, Spring, etc, those villages relationship with Konoha is basically none existent since the news of Naruto's imprisonment reached them. I don't think I have to explain why. I will not be including any characters that were not in the manga or (maybe) any of the movies.

And to that one reader…no, Lee has not left the village….

Thank you: **_AnimeRocker 496, Imortal carnage, Sassy618, HouseMD93, VampiricBloOdyRose, KamilahKaliope, Sleepless Demon, BattleCharger, circusclown53115, Kira Ultima, fullhouses, festa1984, Deathmvp, dementia-notAhumanBeing, Rialga, mermaidangel123, xdevil-childx, || Kairi ||, Patriot-112, roboguy45, VampireGaaraCheesepuffs, ZeonReborn, ezcap1st, satako-san, karasu99, GreenEggsN'Ham, MyinnerDEMON17, Orange Spiral 62, Dark Story Lover, FireRaven99, Picas Lei-Fur, Fuyutaro son, Mommerally, If I Died Today, 4rm36uy, seth8301985, Failing Mentally, Alicia212, OrcaDM, fusioninferno, scryoko, Sammywolfstar, ZabuzasGirl, Anon, HinataCutie123, cariangelus, Bloody Black Death, Manga reader 125, ncpfan, Zephyer12, Animelvr, Zero Gawain, Psudocode Samurai, _**and **_anyone else that I missed_** for reviewing!

And to those who have favorite and followed this story.

A big "Thank you" to my awesome beta **_TenchiSolutionsForAll_** for doing another wonderful job yet again on the edits for this chapter!

_Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 9

Suffocating would be the only word to describe the atmosphere surrounding the room's occupants. The aftermath of Sasuke's second appearance had officially put Konohagakure into a state of chaos. Parents kept their children inside and store owners were cautious of who they let inside. Several shinobi teams had been sent out to search the village for the Uchiha, though most were certain that he was using one of the many undiscovered but widely rumored secret entrances within the Uchiha compound to gain access to the village. Needless to say, all of the searches turned up nothing. The teams were pulled back, but most stayed on alert. Tsunade acknowledged the futility of the search efforts to herself. She knew that if Sasuke wanted to get back inside the village, he would. However, Tsunade was determined to do everything she could to keep her village safe.

Sakura stood deathly still by the door, her face still unusually pale from the shock of yesterday's news. Subconsciously her eyes drifted to Tsunade, watching quietly as she ran yet another diagnostic test on her teamma—no, on _Naruto_. She hadn't been able to call him "teammate" in so long.

Comrade, teammate, friend, brother.

None of those terms meant anything anymore. Was it even possible that just over a year had passed since the… mistake? 14 months….it felt like an eternity since she last thought of Naruto in any of those terms.

Betrayer, Rapist, _Demon_.

She winced at that last word. She knew Naruto was far from any of those. She wasn't ignorant of the rumors over the past year that had been circulated by the villagers and shinobi that knew of Naruto's secret. The guesses usually ranged somewhere between Naruto was finally showing his true colors and that Naruto was the incarnate of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Even though she never mentioned anything from that time, she briefly wondered if she ever questioned what was being said. Part of her had blamed Sasuke. You would think that after Sasuke's defection, Naruto's and her relationship would have grown. It had, but it wasn't what she now knew it could have been. Another part of her blamed it on the demon inside of him. Maybe its influence had finally seeped into him, like some said. Lastly, in a deeper part of herself, one that she never wanted to acknowledge, she blamed herself. Her thoughts had been so focused on the hurt that she was consumed by that she had never questioned her actions as of late. Sasuke leaving (to be honest with herself, she had never really gotten over it), her ra—assault by her assumed friend, then finding out the truth, dealing with 5 months of heart wrenching guilt, and now _this_? She could blame it on the shock of it all, but even that only went so far.

Emerging from her morbid thoughts, her eyes followed the glow of the healing justu against pale skin, flinching slightly when she caught sight of blue eyes.

There was something about Naruto's eyes that made her skin crawl.

She didn't dwell on the thought long as Iruka walked stiffly into the room. The force of the door opening beside her was enough to force her step back for fear of it colliding with her face. Hurt passed over her before it was replaced with shame when Iruka glanced at her.

Not wanting to risk her former teacher's wrath, she took one last glance at Naruto and exited the room, softly closing the door behind her.

From the corner of his eye, Iruka saw Sakura leave. He knew she was avoiding him, but he honestly couldn't care less. At least she could take a hint when it was given to her, unlike some people.

Facing the bed, he narrowed his eyes as he watched the Godaime Hokage check over Naruto. That was all she seemed to be doing lately. That and asking Naruto simple questions, like if he remembered what his name was or what village he lived in. Unfortunately the blonde never answered her. Iruka didn't know if he felt impassive or frustrated at that.

But he did feel some happiness. Naruto was finally responding! You couldn't really tell at first look but Iruka could see the differences, like the frequent blinking of his eyes and his slightly slouched frame. It was a sign, maybe, that he was getting better and that was all Iruka needed to know.

Opening his mouth to ask when Naruto is going to be released, he quickly shut it when the sound of people entering the room reached him. Neji and Kakashi eyed him warily as they entered the room. Since Iruka has been prone to violent outbursts lately, they felt their caution was justified.

"You summoned us, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, his visible eye turning to Tsunade while still keeping Iruka in his periphery of his vision.

Tsunade straighten up and turned to face them. "Yes."

"Neji, as I have already informed Kakashi, Iruka has filed for the legal adoption of Naruto. As a result, Naruto will be released into his care today," she stated slowly, watching their reactions closely. Neji's head snapped towards Iruka before quickly looking back at the Hokage. When he locked eyes with Iruka, his eyes had dared Neji to argue with Tsunade's decision. "I want you and Kakashi to escort Naruto to Iruka's house."

Tsunade paused and eyed Kakashi, who tensed a little, preparing for what he knew was going to happen next. She looked back at Iruka. "I am sending Kakashi to live with you for the next several weeks."

"No way in Hell is that happening," Iruka fumed.

"It's only to help you and Naruto settle into this new life. Don't be unreasonable."

"Unreasonable?" Iruka looked at her menacingly. "I'm not being _unreasonable_. I don't want _you_ or anyone else that has fallen into the Uchiha's trap anywhere near me _or_ Naruto. You're lucky I haven't already left the village for what you've done! Even Iwa would be better than here! At least I would know what to expect!"

"You can't be serio—"

"Of course I'm serious!"

"You know the history behind Konoha and Iwa, you know what they would do if they found out—"

"OF COURSE I KNOW!"

"It's safer here."

"You have some nerve. Naruto would be safer with the Akatsuki than with you."

"Iruka! This is not up for debate! This is an order!"

Neji and Kakashi watched silently from the sidelines. Iruka was stiff with anger as he argued with Tsunade over who would be let near himself and Naruto….but they knew it was something much deeper than that.

"I don't give a damn about you and your orders! You lost _that_ respect when you threw Naruto in prison! You lost that respect when you let those people hurt him like that."

"We've been through this—"

"No, YOU'VE been through this! You knew! You fucking _knew_ what was happening down there and you did nothing! Absolutely nothing! Would you have let it continue if Uchiha hadn't come along and spoiled the pathetic sense of justification that all of you felt?"

"ENOUGH!" Iruka's mouth snapped shut at the shouted command. "As the Hokage and leader of the village that you _still_ reside in, I am giving you an order and you will follow it like a shinobi of Konoha should!"

Iruka glared at her, fist clenched tightly against his sides, but said nothing else.

The room was left in uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Kakashi's eyes shifted from Tsunade to Iruka, watching their reactions intently. There was something he was being left out of concerning what had really happened in those cells. He wasn't sure if he liked being left in the dark.

Iruka continued to glare at his _Leader_ before looking at the frail blonde behind her, his eyes softening a little before he stiffened. Without another glance at the occupants in the room, he turned, yanking the door open in an attempt to leave.

"Don't forget to stop by my office later so we can officially finalize the care of Naruto." Tsunade's voice caused him to pause before continuing out the room, slamming the door behind him.

Neji stood stiffly away from the door, glad to not be in the same room as Iruka anymore. Even he felt a little uneasy about the whole situation. He and Iruka weren't on as bad of terms as most of the village seemed to be in, but that didn't mean that Iruka was talking to him either. He simply acknowledged Neji's presence more often than other's. Neji couldn't classify himself as one of the ones that had betrayed the blonde ninja's trust by believing he was guilty of that crime….but he was one of the very very few who silently stood by and watched as things played out. He had never voiced his disagreement after the first few times he was asked his opinion of the matter. He always thought it was rather foolish how people jumped to conclusions regarding one's guilt.

He supposed, with some amusement, that he and his cousin were not that different with regards to their blonde friend.

Kakashi still stood quietly against the wall, observing Tsunade as she released a sigh and went to do a last check up on Naruto before his release. Kakashi knew that it should have bothered him that throughout the whole shouting match between Iruka and Tsunade, Naruto had kept a disinterested look, but he guessed he shouldn't assume that he would have been any different, even if he was responding now…

Watching Tsunade gently remove the IV from Naruto's arm, Kakashi wondered if he was just processing everything that had happened over the last year. He wondered if Naruto would even recall what had happened over these last few months….would he recall their pleas for forgiveness? His eyes flew to the ugly scar on Naruto's neck at that last thought.

Would Naruto forgive him for not being there for him all these years?

"Neji, go wait outside. Kakashi will be there momentarily."

Neji frowned but bowed and left.

"Grab those clothes and come help me…I have something to discuss with you anyway."

Kakashi raised a silver eyebrow but complied.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

Iruka found himself staring intently at the room in front of him, a bag of newly bought clothes clutched tightly in his hands. He was oblivious to everything else around him.

The room was a fairly decent size for a typical Konoha house. Shelves filled with toys (most of which were untouched) and a few books sat on the wall. A couple of scrolls sat neatly against the wall in the far right corner, and a couple of kunai and throwing stars laid haphazardly on the floor, along with a couple articles of clothing that were now too small for their owner to wear. The walls were a bright orange, as were the bed sheets. The orange was a little rough on the eyes…but you got used to it.

Most of the items in the room hadn't been touched in years, while a few looked worn. These few items were Naruto's current possessions. Well, what was left of them anyway. A flash of anger shot through Iruka at the thought.

Not long after Naruto had been convicted, the village had celebrated the imprisonment of the Kyuubi Container. One day, a mob had gone so far as to ransack the blonde boy's apartment. Nothing was taken, since no one wanted to take something belonging to a _monster_. Instead, they dragged the possessions out the house, dumped them in a pile in the middle of the street, and set them on fire. Iruka didn't know how long the fire burned before he came running, having heard a couple of his fellow villagers talking about "the burning of the demon's possessions". With the help of Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, he had finally managed to put out the fire. But by then it was too late, as most of Naruto's things were destroyed save for a few scrolls, clothes, Naruto's old goggles, a few weapons, and a picture of Teams 7 and 10 together, along with the picture of Team 7 from all those years ago. The picture was burnt around the edges, but Iruka kept it, even though he wanted nothing more than to toss it back in with the rest of the burnt objects.

Together, the small group carried the items back to Iruka's house, ignoring the angry shouts from the villagers. Most of those shouts were about how Naruto had brainwashed them to his side or how they were demon followers, and were not worthy of their attention. Iruka considered the mob a disgrace to the village and betrayers of the human race.

He was used to the hatred, having often defended Naruto as a child, but he knew that the Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi were not. They were not prepared for life as outcasts in their own village, even among their own peers. Neither were they prepared for the insults that were constantly thrown their way or, more importantly, the rejection from their parents. It was a touchy subject for all three kids, but they were handling it as best they could under the circumstances.

A knock on the door sent a scowl on his face. Iruka had been so deep in his memories that he had forgotten his visitors' imminent arrival. Sitting the bag down inside the closet, he turned quickly to answer the door, throwing it open.

"Naruto!"

Kakashi and Neji stood on either side of Naruto, holding the blonde up and preventing him from falling to the ground. Naruto's head was bowed slightly, but not enough to where Iruka couldn't see that his eyes were a bit hazy behind half closed eyelids. Someone, presumably Tsunade, had changed him out of the hospital gown and into a brown t-shirt and black pants that hung loosely off his too thin hips. He wasn't wearing any shoes, but Iruka's concern was finally getting him inside his house.

"Take him to the first room on the left," was the only thing Iruka said before allowing them inside, Naruto stumbling over his feet the whole way.

Closing the door, Iruka turned just in time to see Naruto enter his new room. Not trusting either of the other shinobi in the least, Iruka hurried into the room. He watched carefully as Kakashi and Neji gently sat Naruto down at the foot of the bed, the Hyūga prodigy bowing slightly before leaving the room and exiting the house.

Not bothering to acknowledge the masked shinobi, Iruka quickly sat down next to Naruto, rubbing his back in soothing circles, whispering that he was finally home and how he wouldn't let anything else hurt the blonde.

Kakashi stood up, letting Iruka's soft promises fill the air before speaking. "I need to follow up with Lady Tsunade on a few things…," he said hesitantly before adding, "I will be back soon."

"Then leave." The harsh worlds belied the unemotional delivery. The white hair shinobi nodded solemnly before disappearing from the room.

At the sound of the front door shutting, Iruka moved to kneel in front of the blonde, gripping his pale hand gently.

"Naruto." At the name, hazy blue eyes roamed the room before settling on the man before him. "Do you remember me Naruto?"

The blonde didn't say anything, his now dull blue eyes meeting Iruka's brown ones unsteadily before breaking contact and lazily roaming the room. They stayed like that for a while, one set of hands holding the other before Iruka spoke again.

"Do you remember how we first met?" Iruka smiled at the memory. "I had just gone out to do some errands when I stumbled across you in an alleyway not too far from here. It was obvious you were hiding, and doing a poor job at it." He stopped, anger flooding him again at the thought of those people hurting Naruto, but he quickly dismissed it. "I tried to coax you out but you were hesitant at first, until I offered you an apple. I could tell you were starving just by the look of you. But it worked. You came out and I led you here. Instead of an apple, I made you dinner and convinced you to stay the night."

Iruka smiled, fondness in his voice as he spoke. "You've been a frequent visitor ever since…" He paused, looking at the blonde in front of him, gripping his hands a little tighter in comfort. "One day, I think a month after I met you, I went out and bought some things and fixed up this spareroom. Painted the walls, found the brightest shade of orange I could for the bedsheets. I invited you over the night of the Kyuubi Festival and while everyone was out celebrating the heroism of the Yondaime, we celebrated your birthday. I made a cake and showed you this this room. It took me weeks to get the room the way I thought you would like, it but the look on your face was worth it." Iruka remembered the look of surprise on the blonde's face when he showed the room to him and the watery smile that came afterwards. "I bought some toys for you too, but you never really touched those—always wanting to spend your time with me outside…I bought you some books too, just to find out you couldn't really read all that well. I know the Sandaime taught you what he could when he could, but I decided I would start teaching you the basics."

Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see the book of the Four Hokages of the Leaf. Letting go of Naruto's limp hand to grab the book, he held it up in the blonde's line of sight. "This was your favorite book. It was your present from me for your ninth birthday. I believe this was your inspiration for wanting to become Hokage one day." He paused again, eyebrows furrowed in concern. Sitting the book down in its original spot, Iruka grabbed Naruto's hand again.

"Do you still have that dream Naruto?"

As Iruka expected, there was no answer to his question.

Roaming blue eyes caught Iruka's brown ones; the blonde's face never changed from the impassive look still plastered on his pale face. Iruka stared intently at Naruto, trying to see what the blonde wasn't letting anyone see. After a moment, Iruka smiled, as if receiving his answer to his question. Raising his hand, the brown haired man placed his hand on Naruto's cheek, ignoring how cold the blonde's skin felt beneath his fingers.

"I'm taking care of you now, Naruto, and I promise I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." The words were spoken softly, but he was sure that Naruto heard him. Standing up, but never letting go of Naruto's hand, Iruka sat next to Naruto. Iruka was content with staring at the wall in front of them, just so long as he could be next to his adopted son.

That's how Kakashi came upon them, a bag strapped over his shoulder. Iruka looked back, a scowl forming on his face when he caught sight of the other Konoha shinobi. Casting one last look at the blonde, Iruka stood silently as to not disturb the young man next to him. Walking out the room, Iruka softly closed the door, turning to cast another glare at Kakashi.

"What?" He snapped.

Kakashi didn't say anything, only shifted the bag on his shoulder. When Iruka caught sight of the bag, he scoffed and silently led the Jonin to another room.

"This is where you will be sleeping during your…stay." The last word was forced through gritted teeth. "I expect it to be the way I left it when you leave."

Side stepping away from the entrance of the room, Iruka watched the man hesitantly enter the room and place his bag on the bed. Turning, Iruka made his way to the kitchen. It was time for him to start preparing dinner.

Humming to himself in an effort to calm down, Iruka opened up one of the cabinets and pulled out a frying plan, placing it on the stove. He continued pulling out ingredients until Kakashi walked in. Ignoring the man, Iruka poured some flour into a bowl before cutting up the fish that sat on the counter.

"Iruka." Kakashi wasn't surprised at the lack of response. "Iruka, If I am going to be staying here, we need to come to a compromi—" his words were cut off as Iruka slammed down the knife and swiftly spun around, anger burning in his eyes.

"Listen to me and listen to me good." Iruka pointed angrily at Kakashi. "I have no intentions of being friendly with you. I do not like you. The only reason why I am putting up with your presence in my home is because Tsunade ordered me to, though I don't see how being in the same place with the person that hurt you in the first place will help Naruto recover," he sneered.

"Iruka, please lis—"

A glass bowl flew into the wall next to Kakashi's head, the sounds of glass shattering ringing in the air.

"You stay away from me and Naruto unless I tell you otherwise, you hear me? I mean it Hatake! I catch you near Naruto and I will kill you!" Iruka screamed, storming out the kitchen without another word.

Kakashi's wide eyes followed the brown haired man out the kitchen. He had never known Iruka to be that violent.

Iruka made his way to Naruto's room, calming himself before opening the door. Naruto was in the same spot that he had left him; the blonde's head was listlessly hanging down, staring at his hands that were now lying in his lap.

Releasing a breath of air, Iruka walked over to him, positioning his arms underneath Naruto's. "Come on, Naruto."

Helping Naruto stand, the two slowly made their way to the bathroom across the hall, Naruto stumbling and limping the whole way there. Sitting the blonde down on top of the toilet seat, Iruka leaned over the tub and began to fill it with warm water. Turning back to Naruto, Iruka gripped the ends of Naruto's shirt to take to off, stopping when Naruto flinched at the attempt.

"It's okay. I'm only helping you undress so you can bathe. I won't hurt you," Iruka stated softly, removing the shirt completely. Staring back at him was a large scar, running from the blonde's left shoulder to the middle of his stomach. There were a couple more scars that were almost invisible if you weren't looking for them. There were a couple more visible on his arms too…and then there was the nasty looking scar going across his neck…

Frowning slightly, Iruka lowered his hands and removed Naruto's pants and boxers, ignoring the more violent flinch that came from the young man and the reasons for that reaction. There were a few more scars visible on his upper thighs and one on his lower left leg, but they didn't look all that bad now. Iruka regretted knowing that those scars would more than likely stay with Naruto for the rest of his life if they hadn't healed by now.

Sighing sadly to himself, Iruka helped Naruto stand and led him to the tub. Lowering the blonde gently into the tub as to not startle him too much, Iruka grabbed the bar of soap and a fresh wash towel form the rack by the wall. Gently placing the towel against the blonde's skin, Iruka began to clean his skin, making sure not to travel too far against his face or too low, all the while humming the same tune form the kitchen to keep Naruto calm. When he had washed all he could, Iruka grabbed the shampoo, pouring some in Naruto's hair and lathering the liquid into the limp golden locks. He made sure to not get any in Naruto's eyes and massaged his scalp gently. After Naruto was thoroughly cleaned, as clean as he could get, Iruka rinsed Naruto off and released the water from the tub. Helping the blonde out the tub, Iruka helped him dry off and put on the plain black clothes that he had sat out earlier.

Satisfied, Iruka and Naruto headed back to Naruto's room. Iruka placed Naruto back onto the bed, this time helping him lay back against the headboard. As he was settling Naruto into bed, Kakashi entered, holding two plates filled with chopped fish and rice. Iruka took the plates without thanks before turning back to Naruto, placing the plate beside him. Hearing the door close, Iruka sat on the bed, making sure to sit comfortably as he faced Naruto.

Picking up one of the plates, Iruka held it in front of Naruto. "Are you hungry? It's only fish and rice…I thought it would be a good idea to start you off with something basic." He left out the fact that it was Kakashi that actually cooked the food he had prepared.

When Naruto looked at the plate, Iruka sat it in the blonde's lap, holding out the chopsticks for him to use. Naruto looked at the utensil for a moment before raising a shaky hand to grip it. Iruka watched sadly as Naruto tried and failed at picking up a piece of fish, his hands shaking so badly the chopsticks continued to fall out of his grip. Blinking back tears, the older man pick up the chopsticks, picking up a piece of fish and holding it in front of the blonde's lips. Naruto opened his mouth and Iruka placed the fish onto his tongue, waiting patiently until Naruto finished chewing before repeating the action until the plate was cleaned. Iruka placed the empty plate onto the bed side table, picking up his own plate and eating some of its contents.

After a few bites, Iruka noticed that his vision was starting to get blurry. Panicking briefly when he choked on some of the rice, his breathing started to get a bit erratic. Placing the plate on the bed, he closed his eyes began rubbing at his them uselessly. Suddenly, a sob tore through his throat and the tears clouding his eyes began to fall, landing on the orange material underneath him.

"Oh God, Naruto! I'm so sorry!" he cried, his shoulders shaking with the force of his sob, his fingers digging into the material of the bed. "I-I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I swear, if I could go back in time, I would be right next to you at that blasted trial. I swear I would!" He could barely hear his own words over his sobs, but his last words were spoken so softly, he thought he wasn't being heard. "Please, please, please forgive me. I never meant it…"

He continued to cry, hands still digging into the blanket, until he felt hands wrap around his gently. Opening his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the pale hands on top his. Slowly, his watery eyes widened and his sobs slowly decreased until they stopped. Looking up, Iruka whispered softly.

"…Naruto?"

That impassive look was still on the blonde's face, but his eyes weren't that dull of a color anymore, they shined with _something_ as he stared at Iruka, never letting go of the older man's hands.

And that's how they stayed, in peaceful silence—with Naruto's hands gripping Iruka's like a lifeline and Iruka's small sniffles—until Naruto drifted off into a well-deserved sleep. Iruka slipped his hands from Naruto's loosened grip and stood, removing the plate from the bed and on top of Naruto's empty one on the small table by the bed. Wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt, Iruka smiled a little at Naruto's peaceful expression as the blonde slept. Gently removing the blanket from underneath Naruto's sleeping body Iruka gently covered Naruto with it before gathering their plates and leaving the room. Looking back at Naruto, he turned off the lights and shut the door softly.

Kakashi was standing outside the door, leaning on the wall beside the door. The man never looked at Iruka and Iruka didn't spare the man a glance either, choosing instead to head in the direction of the kitchen—that small smile ever present on his face.

With a last glance at the door, Kakashi headed to his room.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

The sun had already set and the people of the village were settling down for the night. On a street corner stood a restaurant that still held customers, unlike those who closed up early since the aftermath of the Uchiha's second appearance. One of those customers was the Nara clan's own Shikamaru. The brown haired shinobi sat at the far end of the restaurant, well away from any of the other customers.

The chair next to him moved, one of his fellow shinobi settling down in the seat.

"Neji."

The other ninja didn't speak at first, choosing instead to stare intently at the counter. "…Did you know?"

"Hm?"

"Did you _know_?"

It wasn't hard to figure out what the Byakugan user meant. Shikamaru didn't answer at first, choosing to let his thoughts run free before he came to a decision. Neither noticed another pair of ears that were listening.

"At one point in time, I thought it was possible." Shikamaru paused before continuing, "But with the way the villagers treated him, I just assumed that I was wrong."

Neither said anything for a moment, silently dwelling on their thoughts. Sighing in frustration, Neji clinched his fists.

"How could we have missed it? They look almost identical."

Shikamaru shifted in his seat. "It wouldn't have mattered. We would have never acknowledged the fact that they could have been related both because, to us classmates, he was simply the dead last in school to compare to a man like the Yondaime and because the older generations held so much hatred for him, it simply never crossed our minds. They treated him like dirt instead of the heir to the village's hero."

Neji stood abruptly, slamming his hands down on the counter and catching the attention of the other occupants of the restaurant.

"How could they keep a secret like this? Didn't it occur to them that Naruto's life would have been better had his heritage not been kept a secret from us?" With that, Neji turned and left, too upset to stay and hear the Nara prodigy's response.

Shaking his head, Shikamaru placed his head in his hands. "…Maybe it was because his life would have been far worse had people known who his father was."

Behind the counter, Ayame and Teuchi stood wide eyed, having heard the whole thing.

* * *

**Author Note:** Thank you for reading! I will be posted a little more often, so you won't have to wait that long for the next chapter. And don't forget to find my On **LV**, **AFF**, and** YFF**!

And more importantly, **_REVIEW_**.

Sincerely,

_~XxKageTenshixX_


	10. Chapter 10

**Author Note:** The next two chapters (including this one) will be the prologue of the return of Naruto. Meaning, you won't see much of him until the end of chapter 11 and then it'll mostly be from his point of view. But the story will pick up and will more than likely be longer than what I'm actually writing. Hopefully, there will be a whole lot of action soon. Keep in mind that this is more of a "filler" chapter.

Along with that, I thought I should give you guys some good news. The next few chapters of all my stories have been written, so I will be posting more frequently. the next chapter will be up and posted in two weeks.

**IMPORTANT!** I find myself repeating this, so this is the last time! This is _not_ yaoi!

Six pages worth of reviews have bumped me up to 400! So "Thank you": **_AnimeRocker 469, BDG420, festa1984, Manga reader 125, XP 1228, senjuuchiha, HouseMD93, IfakeoutI, cardo076, Den'atsu ga, jgreek, Van the Rogue Soul Drinker, BattleCharger, bankaii777, fullhouses, sktwright, Haseo55, twilight8377, Deathmvp, Patriot-112, Sleepless Demon, EroSlackerMicha, alchemist19, xdevil-childx, Fuyutaro son, Mommerally, film2010, ||Kairi||, mermaidangel123, Rialga, ncpfan, Gigatron4761, Zephyer12, solitare1, Imortal Carnage, Gyneth-Coral-Melody-Laterza, Ex10, dementia-notAhumanBeing, cariangelus, Crimson Genjutsu, AnonymousIncognito, Bloody Black Death, Crio – Arch-Mage Ice Dragon, GreenEggsN'Ham, Ddangerdan, LanaLegolas, FireRaven99, Mystolon, Demon, karasu99, Picas Lei-Fur, SilverKnight17, doremishine itsuko, none, ballinore, ShowTime, PthaloBlueHawk, animeromance72, kawarimiripun, Zakura Koi, dazandi, tedlay, Sabriilyn, shiskanae242, Brenden, WillTCastle, Aelan013_** and **_anyone else who I missed and those Guest reviews!_**

And "Thank you" to all those who added **TDTBH** to their Favorites and Alerts.

**_TenchiSolutionsForAll_**, you did an awesome job yet again on beta-ing this chapter.

_Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 10

Ino was worried. It was a feeling that wasn't uncommon nowadays. This time, however, her focus was entirely on Sakura. With everyone so worried about recent events, Ino hadn't had the chance to see how everyone else was coping, which was why she was currently standing in front of Sakura's family house, a vase of flowers firmly in her hand. With her free hand, Ino knocked on the door and waited patiently for a response.

A lady in her early 50's was the one to answer the door. There was a smile on her face when she saw it was Ino at her front door.

"Ah, hello Ino. It's good to see you," the woman said.

"It's good to see you too Mrs. Haruno," Ino responded, smiling back brightly.

Mrs. Haruno was a relatively tall woman with graying strawberry blonde hair that was always wrapped neatly in a bun at the back of her head. Her eyes were a few shades darker than her daughter's, an almost emerald green compared to her daughter's jade.

Stepping back from the door, Mr. Haruno made a welcoming gesture with her hands, inviting Ino inside.

"I suppose you're here to see Sakura?" Mrs. Haruno asked softly, taking an occasional glance at the staircase across the room.

Ino nodded slightly, but gave a verbal confirmation when she saw that Mrs. Haruno was facing away from her. Mrs. Haruno sighed sadly and sat down wearily in a chair by the door.

"I'm worried about my little girl. She's been so upset lately. She hasn't come out of her room in days. Although I can understand, given everything that has happened…" She paused, giving Ino a pleading look. "I would be so grateful if you would go talk to her, help ease a mother's worries?"

Ino nodded. "Of course I'll go talk to her."

Ino turned towards Sakura's mother and held out the vase. Mrs. Haruno accepted the gift with a smile.

"Thank you dear."

Ino smiled and headed towards the stairwell. Going up the stairs, she took a right when she made it to the top. Sakura's room was just at the end of the hallway, the door was shut against intruders. Ino stood outside and knocked softly, but firmly on the door.

"Sakura?" The sound of fabric rustling was her only response.

Ino grabbed the handle to the door and twisted it to the right, pushing the door open slightly.

Sakura's room was a mess—which was the complete opposite of its usual cleanliness. Clothes were thrown across the room, books and clothes lay haphazardly on the floor. From the corner of her eye, Ino could see several trays of food that looked barely touched.

Sakura sat against her headboard, her hands covered her face. Ino could still see the tear tracks and the shaking of her shoulders when she let out a soundless sob. Ino looked sadly at her friend and say down next to her on the bed. She embraced Sakura gently, her arms wrapping around Sakura's shoulders in a silent gesture of comfort.

"Oh, Sakura." Ino whispered softly. "I'll be okay."

Sakura let out another sob, pushing Ino away. "No it won't. It'll never be okay."

Ino didn't attempt to touch her again, knowing it wouldn't do any good at the moment.

"Yes it will, you just have to keep trying." Ino truly hoped she wasn't lying to herself and to her friend.

Sakura moved away from the bed. She grabbed a pillow before she got too far away and threw it across the room to join the others on the floor.

"You don't get it!" Sakura yelled at her, her face a bright red.

Ino didn't move from her position on the bed. She chose to listen anxiously as Sakura vented out all her pent up frustrations. She listened as Sakura told her what happened in the hospital just a few days ago. She watched as Sakura continued to grab things and throw then violently at the walls that made up the room. She flinched when something came too close to her for her liking.

The whole time, Ino hadn't moved from her spot on the bed. She refused to move because she was still processing what was being said to her. Sakura stopped pacing suddenly and turned to look at Ino, her eyes still red from crying.

"Did you know that the Yondaime had a child?"

Ino snapped out of her thoughts and sent a confused look at her, a frown marring her face. "What are you talking about, Sakura?"

Sakura went back to pacing again, a more urgent distress visible in her suddenly rigid posture. Her hands flew up to her head, her fingers gripping the roots of her hair tightly.

"A son, Ino!" A blank look was all she received in response. "Think about it! Naruto was born on the day of the Kyūbi's attack. He's an orphan…" He voice broke. "They even look alike."

As Sakura started to ramble, Ino stood and reached out to her. Sakura only moved away from the outstretched hand, shaking her head desperately.

"Sakura, that doesn't mean anything…" Ino began.

"WHAT OTHER CHILD WOULD HE HAVE USED?" Sakura screamed hysterically. Ino said nothing. "Who would you have used, Ino? To seal away the Kyūbi?"

Ino said nothing.

"No one, no one but his own child."

Sakura's knees gave way. Ino shot forward to catch her, hugging her as tightly as she could. She remained silent as she tried to ease her friend's sorrow.

**XxXxXxXxTDTBHxXxXxXxX**

Iruka knocked on Naruto's door, a set of clean clothes in his hands, before entering quietly. Naruto stood at the foot of the bed, a distant look in his eyes. In his left hand, he held his burnt goggles tightly.

Iruka took a few steps forward, a worried look on his face.

"Naruto?"

A twitch of the blonde's hand was the only reaction Iruka received, but it was enough for him. He moved the rest of the way to the bed and sat the clothes down.

"Good morning," Iruka said with a small smile. "I brought you some clothes for you."

It was a statement that had become a daily routine between the two, so Iruka wasn't worried when he didn't get a response. He hadn't heard his newly adopted son—something that he felt he was far too late on—speak for a while now and wasn't expecting anything different today.

"I'll leave you to get ready for the day.

Iruka turned to leave, but not before he took another glimpse at Naruto. Like all the other times, he could not help but notice how different the blonde looked from when he was Iruka's somewhat troublesome student.

Naruto had grown taller, almost whole two feet, enough to surprise Iruka. He was thinner than he had ever been, which that was saying something. Even when he was younger and living by himself, Iruka couldn't recall a time where the blonde's ribs were showing through his skin like they were now. His skin was much too pale. His former healthy looking tan was non-existent now from his confinement. His hair was longer too. It still held its' wild spikes, but now it reached the middle of his back. But even it had suffered as well; it had lost its golden shine and now seemed like a muted shadow of its former brilliant color.

It was the scars that haunted Iruka more. Naruto _would_ get past this. He would heal, but it would be that much more difficult due to the physical reminders he would be forced to see every time he looked at himself. Those wounds would never go away.

"_But,"_ Iruka thought to himself while exiting the room,_ "it might make him that much stronger."_

Naruto watched Iruka leave before placing the goggles in his hand back on the shelf. Slowly he made his way to the other side of the bed, his legs still unsteady from their prolonged disuse. He undressed, wincing when fabric rubbed against a tender scar. When he was done with that task, he reached out and grabbed the brown slacks, letting them unfold. He turned around and sat down on the bed, pulling the pants on. Once he had on the pants, he reached to his side and pulled the shirt—he couldn't help but notice the brilliant orange color—over his head.

Another knock sounded on the door, opening enough for Iruka to poke his head through. The corner of Naruto's lips twitched.

"If you're finished, breakfast is ready…"

Naruto blinked and stood up, still a bit shaky, but followed Iruka as he left the room and entered the kitchen. Sitting at the table was Kakashi, dressed in his usual ninja gear. Naruto paused slightly when he saw him. This was the first time Kakashi had actually eaten with them. Iruka stopped as well to glare at the man for a second before gently taking one of Naruto's hands and leading him to the seat furthest away from the shinobi. Once the blonde was seated, Iruka turned to the stove, picking up two plates from the counter. He placed one politely in front of Naruto and almost threw the other plate at Kakashi before turning to retrieve his own. Like he had been doing before, Iruka sat himself in the chair closest to Naruto. He waited until Naruto had taken his first couple bites of his breakfast to make sure that Naruto did not need any assistance eating his food before finally starting on his own.

Naruto finished first after taking only a few bites from his dish, which was yet another thing Iruka worried about lately. Naruto stood slowly and grabbed his plate, preparing to take it to the sink when Iruka stopped him.

"Don't worry about that, I'll get it later…" He paused. "Why don't you go back to your room? I have something I need to take care of first and then I'll come in and check on you. Is that okay?" he asked softly. He absolutely refused to make Naruto do anything that he was uncomfortable with.

Naruto inclined his head to the right slightly, a small action that Iruka would have missed had he not known what to look for. Blue eyes turned to look at Kakashi and Iruka have him a small smile.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," Iruka promised, giving Kakashi another venomous glare.

Naruto said nothing and began making his way back to his room, closing the door quietly once he was inside. He sat down at the foot of the bed, his eyes staring vacantly ahead but his mind reeling.

Though he was not as _there_ as he wanted himself to be, Naruto was not as catatonic as most thought him to be. He remembered everything.

The trial, the accusations, the confinement, the _**pain**_ and finally his release. Everything.

He remembered Iruka coming to visit him that first day in his cell, the anguish on the man's face when he saw him covered in chakra suppressing seals. It was the first and last visit from him. The guards would not let Iruka or anyone else that sided with him enter the prison after that. Despite that, Iruka had kept his promise that he would fight for Naruto's innocence. He had heard enough from those who came into his cell to know who was against him and were faithful and stood by his side.

He knew how Teuchi and Ayame had their shop vandalized and almost burned to the ground. He knew how Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon had been labeled outcasts and traitors by the very village they were training themselves to protect. He knew how Iruka struggled every day to prove his innocence, just to come up empty handed and how he might have become a victim to the village's cruelty had he not been a shinobi himself.

He knew about his destroyed apartment and about the failing relationships with the other villages. But most of all, he knew that it was Sasuke that had framed him.

He closed his eyes and let his mind wonder for a while longer, absorbing everything that had happened as of late.

It was a few hours later that Iruka came in and sat on the bed next to him. Iruka didn't say anything and Naruto let the other man enjoy his presence. He knew without a doubt that Iruka was worried for him. Soon enough, Iruka began taking.

He talked about everything he had missed during his imprisonment.

"…Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon finally had their first C ranked mission a little while after you were sent to prison…"

"…Teuchi named a dish after you…"

"…Ayame beat up a couple of costumers because they said something bad about you…"

Iruka went on and on…and Naruto let him.

"I think Gaara was the most volatile out of all of us. He personally came to see the Hokage himself just to ask her how stupid she was to think such things of you. Offered me citizenship to Suna too…"

Iruka stopped, looking at Naruto for the first time since he entered the room.

"I thought about it but I couldn't leave you here. Neither could anyone else who believed in you. I'm sure Gaara misses you. I wonder if he's gotten my letter yet."

Iruka stopped again, giving Naruto a watery smile.

"It really is good to have you back, Naruto. I promise I will help you through this. No matter what it takes."

With that final declaration, Iruka stood up and softly patted the back of Naruto's hand before leaving the room.

Naruto still didn't move. He just stared at the wall in front of him.

* * *

**Author Note: _Review!_**

_~XxKageTenshixX_


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note:** Sorry I'm late. This chapter is kinda short, though a bit longer than last time.

Thank you to those of you that are now following and favorite this story.

A big _"Thank You"_ to: **_fullhouses, Fanatic-T, Den'atsu ga, ShowTime, AnimeRocker 469, Hells Mercenary, kotkas24, , One Warrior 86, redhotmito, KamilahKaliope, Elemental-OverLord, emilbootanimefreak, skywright, Haseo 55, AnonymousIncognito, EroSlackerMicha, || Kairi ||_****_, Sabriilyn, Rialga, ncpfan, HouseMD93, Patriot-112, LanaLegolas, roboguy45, bankai777, Aelan013, Shining-Dreamer, HalcyonMonarch, StrageKing, GreenEggsN'Ham, The Ramen Master, satako-san, A, Callmebaka, SinOfDisaster, Alex, shadowmarialove, vagabound xxx, PthaloBlueHawk, Zephyer12, NamiNavigator, Chriscro165, the-darker-side-of-things, Rennousuke, CynicalNinja, GCxZeus, Windschild8178, Impstar, BloosyDragon05, Duesal10, yuri43, Ezra Scarlet, insaneclouwn, OrcaDM, 3, those Guest reviewers_** and **_anyone else that I missed_** for reviewing!

Thank you _**TenchiSolutionsForAll**__ for the amazingness that is you and your edits! Couldn't do it without you!_

_Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 11

The sun had set, and the day was coming to a close. During that time, Iruka stopped by to check on Naruto four more times. Once before he left for the academy, grudgingly leaving Kakashi to watch over the blonde with a warning—threat really—to only keep an eye out. No contact unless it was an emergency. Even then, Iruka was to be alerted immediately before any decisions were made. After he returned home, Iruka checked on Naruto three more times to give him dinner and to help him freshen up. It was early into the next day when Iruka came by again.

"Did you get any sleep?" Iruka couldn't help but to ask. Naruto was still sitting in the same position from the night before.

Naruto didn't reply but Iruka could guess that he hadn't. If he had, it was probably no more than a couple hours' worth.

Shaking his head slightly, Iruka walked towards the bed and placed a few more items of clothing on it. He walked next to Naruto and put his hand gently on the younger man's shoulder.

"Breakfast will be done shortly. Come down whenever you're ready." Getting up, he left, making sure to close the door softly behind him.

It wasn't long before Naruto made his way to the kitchen, clean and dressed in the clothes that Iruka had given him. As was their routine as of late, the blonde took a seat at the table while Iruka sat next to him on his left once he had passed everyone their food. Iruka's attention lingered on Naruto for a moment in case he was needed. Neither of them gave a glance at Kakashi that was seated at the other end of the table.

"Naruto," Iruka said after a few minutes of silence. "We need to leave today, to see Godaime." He paused to examine the blonde's response. "For another check-up."

Naruto hesitated in his eating, which was hardly noticeable as he had only eaten a couple bites, and glanced at Iruka. Iruka could only smile sadly in understanding.

"It won't be long…just hold on for a while longer," he promised.

Seeming to accept his answer, Naruto went back to eating—picking at, really—his breakfast. It wasn't until Naruto was finished with his food that Iruka stood up and took both his and Naruto's plate to the sink after discarding any leftovers. Soon thereafter, Kakashi stood from the table as well, copying his host's actions and headed back to his temporary room briefly. In that time, Iruka made his way back beside Naruto and helped him to his feet. Kakashi was back by the time they made it to the door, and slipped on his sandals so that he could lead the out the doorway. Iruka put on his shoes and helped Naruto into a pair that Iruka had gotten for him a few days ago. Sooner than Iruka wanted, he led Naruto outside for the first time since they had ventured from the hospital.

Outside was warm. The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. It was a perfect day to be outside but Iruka wanted anything but that, especially since Naruto was next to him.

Their journey could have been so much faster if they would have traveled by roof top, but Naruto wasn't in any condition for something like that. Naruto's lack of physical activity since his imprisonment had led to atrophy in his muscles. As a result, their journey proceeded at a snail's pace.

Iruka walked beside Naruto, both to help younger man walk and because he didn't want to stray too far from the blonde. Kakashi walked a couple of feet behind them. Iruka didn't like the idea of the older man being behind him but he didn't trust him to be any closer to Naruto than he already was. So he settled for having the white haired shinobi to protect the rear while he positioned himself to deflect any attacks form the front. It was a paranoid action but it was well warranted.

People were staring. Villagers and shinobi alike were quick to move as far away from them as possible but not far enough to take their eyes away. Some wore their fear in plain sight while others seemed wary of them. But it was the ones that radiated their anger at the sight of the quiet blonde next to him that kept Iruka close to Naruto. Though all of it, Naruto never bothered to acknowledge the people around him.

It took too long before they finally reached the hospital. Just like the people they passed outside, the occupants of the hospital went deathly silent at the sight of them. Iruka made sure he remained cautious of his surroundings as he made his way past the front desk, never making eye contact with anyone until they reached the elevator.

The ride up to the third floor was a quiet one, as was the rest of the way to the room where Tsunade waited for them. Thankfully, they didn't come across anyone else.

Tsunade looked up as they entered, her eyes making sure they avoided Naruto, and gave a small smile.

"Good morning," she greeted them softly, setting the clipboard on the edge of the examining table.

Naruto didn't say anything to her, his face gaining that impassive look that he seemed to give to everyone except Iruka. Iruka in turn sent a glare at her but nodded his head in a reluctant acknowledgement. Kakashi greeted her with his trademark "Yo" and eye smile combination.

Tsunade looked at Naruto for the first time since they entered the room. Iruka's hand twitched at the urge to grab Naruto and pull him out of the room and away from the woman in front of him.

"Naruto," She began softly, hesitantly. "How are you doing?"

Silence was her only answer, not that she expected to actually get an answer from him. If only. Naruto's expression never changed. He didn't even twitch at her question, only kept his eyes focused intently on the wall furthest from Tsunade. Tsunade could only smile sadly.

Motioning with her hands, she beckoned the three of them further into the room and towards the examining table. Kakashi never strayed from his spot near the door while Iruka helped Naruto onto the table.

Iruka stayed as close to Naruto as he could get without getting in Tsunade's way, his eyes never taking themselves away from either blonde. He didn't trust his _Hokage_, even though she was still distressed over her mistakes. He was prepared to take Naruto away at any sign of hostility or his son's unease.

Tsunade lifted her hand toward Naruto, a blue aura encasing it. She moved it slowly over his body, the blue covered fingers never missing an inch. Naruto sat still, not a sound coming from him, his eyes barely blinking. When her hands placed themselves over Naruto's chest they stilled for a moment before they repeated the same movements with his left leg. Her lips twitched, something none of the room's other occupants missed.

Tsunade repeated her scan once more, both hands working this time. The blue glow became brighter as she passed over Naruto's chest and leg again. The tense form Naruto took when Tsunade placed her hand on his leg made Iruka jerk, only barely stopping himself from ripping her hand away as he realized that she wasn't doing anything harmful. Yet.

Body just as tense as Naruto's, Iruka watched Tsunade walk over to one of her cabinets and pulled out a black case. All eyes were on her when she opened the case and pulled out a syringe.

Tsunade paused in her steps at the look the blue eyes sent her, but continued forward hesitantly.

"I need to take a blood sample," she explained, taking the syringe and set them down on top of the case.

Taking a couple of wipes, she cleaned the area on Naruto's upper arm that the needle was to go in to. Grabbing the syringe, she tore the protective cover from it and, as gently as she could, she stuck the needle into Naruto's arm and began drawing his blood. When enough blood was drawn, she drew back the syringe and placed it in another case. She picked up her clipboard from the edge of the table and excused herself before exiting the room. Before she passed the door, she sent Kakashi a look. Kakashi left behind her. When the door was closed, Iruka finally relaxed and sighed.

"As soon as she gets back, we're leaving, okay?"

The tension in Naruto's shoulders lessened as a response.

It was nearly an hour before Tsunade and Kakashi returned. Iruka couldn't help but notice how the atmosphere darkened when they entered the room.

Kakashi resumed his previous position near the door, his posture slumped slightly. His eyes found Iruka and then Naruto, before looking down at the floor. Tsunade was more composed but Iruka could see the slouch in her shoulders. Both were avoiding eye contact with him.

Iruka didn't like it. At all.

Tsunade sat down her clipboard—Iruka doubted she even needed it in the first place—and looked directly at Iruka. She didn't look at Naruto, which didn't matter seeing as how Naruto was back to avoiding eye contact with her and Kakashi. Tsunade waited a moment before speaking.

"Almost everything checks out fine…he's as healthy as he can get as the moment," she said slowly, looking at Naruto briefly.

"What does 'almost' not include?" Iruka narrowed his eyes, not liking the implications of the statement.

Tsunade's expression cracked a little, though she tried not to show the obvious distress in her eyes. Iruka unconsciously shifted even closer to Naruto, a sick feeling in his gut.

"Tell me damnit!"

"Naruto will not be able to resume his career as a shinobi."

The silence that followed was heavy, almost suffocating. Iruka stared at her, eyes wide in disbelief. His legs felt like they were going to collapse.

"What?"

"Iruka, I'm—" Tsunade began, her voice mirroring Iruka's own disbelief.

"What do you mean he can't continue being a shinobi?" Iruka's voice was harsh, almost hysterical.

Tsunade looked pained as she answered.

"I came across this problem when I first took Naruto to surgery after Sasuke's appearance during the festival last year." Delicacy was out the window now. "I removed as much as I could but the poison he was injected with was too potent. By the time I had removed it, the damage was done and I couldn't examine the poison to find a way to reverse the damage. Much of the poison dissolved when it was pulled from the body, too much to be examined. It surpassed even my healing abilities."

Iruka was quiet. "What's wrong with Naruto?"

Tsunade sighed softly. "Whatever it was that entered his bloodstream not only caused severe nerve damage, but it caused too much internal bleeding and damage to his heart—"

"Plenty of shinobi fight with heart conditions!"

"Yes, but… There's no reason why he can't—"

"Iruka!" Tsunade shouted, her voice firm in warning. "I'm sorry, I—that poison did too much. The pressure, it—it's too much. His heart has already failed twice before…I can't risk it failing again."

Tsunade looked straight at him, her remorse evident in her eyes, but Iruka didn't care, not when the essence of Naruto's dream was just beyond the gate.

Naruto.

Iruka looked at Naruto to see how he was taking the news. He was somewhat distressed that the younger blonde didn't show any sign that he had heard what Tsunade had announced to the room. It was as if it wasn't his future that was just thrown into the trash. It didn't matter that Naruto may have wanted to continue being a shinobi or not. It was the fact that the option was no longer a choice to him!

"His left leg is reluctant to heal properly, I'm not wholly sure if it has anything to do with the poison. Most likely it does, with the nerve damage…" She paused to gauge Iruka's expression. "I'm worried if the nerves…keep refusing to mend, he might have a permanent problem with it."

She paused again, looking at Kakashi this time. "Also, I'm still worried about the Kyūbi not healing him. I had hoped to see some sign of it by now but I haven't been able to even sense the Kyūbi's chakra." Looking directly at Naruto, she addressed her question to him. "Do you know why?"

Naruto said nothing, his eyes moving from the wall to stare directly into hers. Tsunade averted her eyes and straightened her shoulders, shifting her weight to her left leg. She could almost feel the death glare being sent her way from Iruka.

"I…in all honesty, I am surprised to see Naruto as responsive as he is right now." Her eyes found Naruto's again. His eyes seemed hard compared to a few moments ago. "If he, ah, if you—Naruto—are feeling more coherent then I would like for you to go see Inoichi for a psych eval."

She picked up the clipboard again and turned to Iruka. "Unless the Kyūbi reemerges, there is nothing more I can do for his injuries." She turned to the doorway, stopping to look at Naruto one last time before leaving. "I'm sorry." Her voice was soft as she closed the door behind her.

Kakashi was the only one to watch her go. Iruka was too furious to even acknowledge her departure. Feeling the need to get away from the building and the people inside it, he moved in front of Naruto.

"Naruto?" His voice was shaky but he tried his best not to show how devastated he was. And Naruto…Naruto wore such an apathetic look on his face that Iruka wanted to scream.

Didn't he understand what was happening? That he could no longer—

Iruka bit the inside of his cheek to hold back the sob that was crawling up his throat, his eyes blinking back the tears threatening to escape his eyes.

"Come on." Was all he could manage to say.

Naruto moved off of the table, Iruka moving to keep him steady on his feet. They passed Kakashi, who followed a few feet behind them. A few people were in the hallway this time, a look from Iruka was all they needed to be sent hurrying to the destinations.

Once they made it outside, Kakashi moved forward so that he was next to Iruka. "Iruka…" Iruka didn't answer him, only continued to help Naruto back home. "Iruka."

"What?" Iruka snapped, never stopping.

"I…" Why was it so hard to speak? "There is something I need to tend to…are you okay taking Naruto back to—"

"I'm not some defenseless child! If you need to go, then go!"

Kakashi did nothing but nod sadly and walk in the other direction. Iruka walked on, Naruto close by his side, ignoring those brave enough to continue staring.

Soon enough, Naruto found himself back in his given room, legs crossed and sitting in the middle of the bed. Blue eyes surveyed their surroundings, taking notice of the dimmed room. He unfolded his legs and moved them over the edge of the bed. Leaning forward slowly, he stood, wobbling a little as he tried to get his balance. On unsteady feet, he walked towards the door and opened it, stepping out of his room.

The hallway was dark, just like his room. He took a few steps, passing by a room, Kakashi's temporary room to be exact. A look inside told him that it was empty. Obviously Kakashi wasn't back yet.

Not sparing the room another look, Naruto kept walking until he stood directly in front of a door that was always familiar to him. Reaching out a hand, he turned the knob and opened the door softly as to not disturb its occupant.

Chaos was what greeted him. Books were discarded onto the floor, all of them torn beyond recognition. Scrolls lay in a similar fashion, a few dents in the wall an indicator that they had been thrown. The lamp on the table was in pieces and the table it sat on was turned on its side. The contents of that table could also be found on the floor.

Naruto looked around the room until his eyes landed on the figured on the bed. Iruka was facing the doorway, eyes closed tightly as he slept. It wasn't a peaceful rest, evident by the clenching of his hands and the fresh tear tracks on the man's cheeks.

Naruto stepped quietly into the room, making sure to avoid the objects on the floor. He paused in his steps briefly to bend down and pick up the blanket on the floor. When he was right next to the bed, Naruto's eyes warmed. Only someone as kind hearted as Iruka would cry in his sleep over something not concerning himself.

He placed the blanket over Iruka, making sure the older man was completely covered before turning his attention to the room. Quietly he started picking up things from the floor and placed them where they belonged. For the items that were beyond repair, he deposited them into the trash bin beside the table that the lamp had been on. Flipping the table back onto its legs, he stepped back. The room looked cleaned; not including the dented wall, there wasn't a thing out of place.

Taking one last look back at Iruka, Naruto headed out the door. He closed the door behind him, but continued to linger outside the door. He stared intently at the door, his thoughts flying a mile a minute before screeching to a halt at the sound of footsteps in the hall.

Naruto drew his attention away from the door and to the man heading his way. Kakashi didn't notice him at first, but when he did, he ceased all movement. Only his visible eye gave away his surprise. One look into Naruto's eyes had Kakashi world crumbling more than it already was.

* * *

**Author Note:** Thank you for reading. **_Review!_**

_~~XxKageTenshixX_


	12. Chapter 12

**Author Note:** See? I've gotten better in my post times. Just a month apart, and will more than likely stay that way. (I do have more than just this one story to work on). But I will better my efforts to at least two weeks between each chapter.

Though, I am amazed and slightly amused at the sudden conclusions some of you immediately jumped to after reading last chapter.

Thank you to all of you that added **_The Darkness That Binds Him_** to their _Alerts_ and _Favorites_.

And a humongous "Thank You" to: **_CharegerBoiFlash, AnimeRocker 469, emilbootanimefreak, ncpfan, rollicking skater, || Kairi ||, KamilahKalioe, solitare 1, Mystolon, Psudocode Samurai, CGxZeus, fullhouses, BloodyDragon05, Patriot-112, ndavid, McCabeRz, Impstar, NapalmInTheRain, xdevil-child, rivereagles999, festa1984, killendell, LanaLegolas, HousesMD93, Sabriilyn, WillTCastle, Sleepless Demon, insaneclouwn, Rialga, Zakura Koi, Sammywolfstar, AnotherFanfictionFailure, Sanz0girl, bankai777, Elemental-OverLord, Kazukimi, roboguy45, Shining-Dreamer, crystaltyger, Thomas, Ezra Scarlet, satako-san, SowTime, cools325, NandoXFiles, GreenEggsN'Ham, SteelLark. , iamtehg, laxyfoxy, Aurora Lopez, Gaiseric, those unnamed guest_**, and **_anyone that I missed_** for reviewing!

_Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 12

They stood like that for what felt like years, each staring intently into the other's eyes. Kakashi's uncovered eye expressed his sudden surprise and unease while Naruto's emotions were hidden behind his bright blue eyes. It was the first time Kakashi had ever seen the blonde by himself since his release from the hospital—Iruka had always been hovering nearby. Not a word was spoken between the two men. After a while, it was Naruto that made the first move, turning around slowly to head back to the comfort of his room.

"Naruto," Kakashi's uncertain voice broke through the silence that was weighing down the air in the narrow hallway.

Naruto didn't halt in his shaky steps, his left leg wavering slightly from the constant pressure of moving around too much that day. He never made a sign that he had heard the older man. A sudden wave of panic and raw fear shot through Kakashi like nothing he had felt since the death of his sensei and his teammates. Running on poorly based instincts, Kakashi took the necessary steps forward, until he had closed the space between them, and grabbed Naruto's lower arm.

"Naruto! Wait!" His voice was just a fraction higher this time.

The reaction was instant. Naruto's body jerked away from the foreign touch, shying away from Kakashi altogether. Kakashi flinched inwardly when he realized that he had grabbed the younger man and quickly released the limb from his hold. Reigning in control of his runaway emotions, Kakashi exhaled softly and tried again.

"Please…just listen." When Naruto didn't make another move, he continued. "I know that it's too late for forgiveness, nor do I expect to ever earn it." He paused and swallowed roughly. "I was a fool. It was foolish of me to doubt you. To have, even for a second, given into the thought that you could have done such a vile thing to Sakura is unforgivable. I should have known better." Underneath his mask, Kakashi pulled his lips into a tight line and directed his eyes to the floor. "Your father would be disappointed in me. He would flay me alive for the wrongs that I've done against you…I should have stood by my sensei's son."

There, the cat was out of the bag. Kakashi couldn't help but feel like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But when he looked up, it wasn't surprise or astonishment at the implications of the truth about one of Naruto's parents that he saw in those blue eyes but anger. Purely contained anger at him, if as even mentioning his father was a sin all in itself.

Kakashi watched as Naruto turned his head back around and continued his walk back towards his room. The limp in his step was barely noticeable but it only served to tear another rip into Kakashi's consciousness. He watched as Naruto finally made it in front of his room, entered the room before closing the door. Kakashi stood alone in that hallway for a little while longer before heaving a heavy sigh and heading to his own room for the night.

When Iruka woke, the first thing that caught his eyes was the condition of his bedroom. The room was clean, with not one thing out of place. There should have been things littering the floor. It should have been a mess, but it wasn't.

The next thing he noticed was that he was incredibly warm. He looked down at the blanket covering the lower part of his body. A confused frown made its way onto his face before his eyes narrowed in anger.

_Kakashi._ That man had been in his room. Who else could it have been?

Throwing the blanket aside, Iruka fumed silently. How dare he? Entering into his room after he had told—threatened—the older man for his entire stay that he was to never come near him unless it was absolutely necessary, especially to enter his room!

He stood, his bare feet hitting the wooden floor harshly, and made his way to the door. Before he could even make it to the second step, there was a knock on his door. He paused in his movement, his anger flaring up again.

"Go away, Hatake!"

There was a pause on the other side of the door before the handle began to jiggle a little. When the door began to open, Iruka instinctively shoved his hand into the lower pants pocket, took grip of a kunai and sent it flying. The hit the wall near the door, just where he intended as a warning but the door continued to open anyway. His eyes widen in alarm and his feet closed the space when he realized that it was Naruto dressed in a different set of clothing.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Naruto, I didn't mean too!" He engulfed the blonde in an awkward hug, his arms wrapped tightly a little above Naruto's middle while Naruto's left arm was raised bent in the air. He sent apology after apology. Naruto said nothing, lowering his arm and showing Iruka the plate in his hand. Iruka blinked at the plate twice before he looked up at Naruto.

"You made this?" He asked, his voice cautious, but excited. Naruto gave a short nod in answer. Iruka smiled happily, grabbing Naruto's other hand and leading him towards the bed, always mindful of the blonde's left leg. Ignoring that his door was still open, he had Naruto sit at the edge of the bed before he took a seat next to him.

Iruka opened his mouth to apologize again, but Naruto only gave a shake of his head and pointed to the plate still in his hand. Iruka closed his mouth but the smile stayed.

"Thank you." Iruka took only a few bites of his breakfast before he looked up at Naruto and frowned. "Have you eaten?"

Naruto looked reluctantly at Iruka but shook his head once in a negative.

"Are you hungry? I don't know if you made anymore but I could always—" Iruka was cut off by another shake of the head. Hesitantly Iruka sighed slightly and continued eating. When he was done, Naruto grabbed his plate and headed out of the room, Iruka not far behind him. They entered the kitchen, Naruto depositing the plate into the sink before washing it. Iruka picked up a towel, taking the plate from Naruto when he was done and drying it.

Kakashi watched them from the doorway. Leaning against the wall, he stared, a childish feeling of jealousy rising through him. He wished that he was more like Iruka. Then maybe, just maybe, it could be him standing next to Naruto without the image of those blue eyes burning with rage and directed at him.

He watched for a few seconds longer before he spoke, interrupting the scene in front of him.

"We need to leave soon."

Naruto didn't stop his movements across the kitchen but Iruka sent him a glare that was common these days.

"I haven't forgotten," he said through clenched teeth.

Kakashi gave a short nod of his head and turned to head back to his room. Once he was gone, Iruka put the towel back down.

"I'll be back shortly," he told Naruto. "Then we have to leave, to go see one of the Yamanaka's, okay?" Naruto glanced at him from the corner of his eye but continued his cleaning.

Iruka left from the kitchen to get prepared. When he left from his room again, Naruto and Kakashi were standing near the door, both looking ready and standing as far away from each other as possible.

Together they left the house and, just like yesterday, Iruka took his spot beside Naruto while Kakashi stayed in the rear. The villagers were just the same as yesterday, close enough to look but far away enough to avoid Iruka's glare.

"Where are we supposed to meet Inoichi?" Iruka mumbled as they entered the hospital through the main doors. He was really getting tired of seeing this place.

Kakashi walked from his place behind them to stand directly in front of Iruka. "Seventh floor, the last room on the left," was the older man's answer.

Iruka let Kakashi lead the way, choosing instead to help Naruto to the elevator. When they reached the seventh floor, Inoichi was waiting for them. The blonde man's lips twitched in a failed attempt at a smile.

"So glad you could make it." the sarcasm in his voice evident to everyone. None of them really wanted to be there. His blue eyes roamed over the three of them, finally landing on Naruto. They locked eyes for a few seconds, Inoichi staring intently into Naruto's blank eyes, before he broke contact and turned. "Follow me."

Iruka looked at Naruto briefly and followed after the other man slowly so he could keep pace with Naruto. Kakashi returned to his place at the rear. Sure enough, Inoichi led them to the last door on the left, pausing to look at them.

"From this point on, only Naruto and I can be in the room. You two must remain here until we are finished," he stated.

Kakashi leaned against the wall in response, giving Inoichi a pointed look that the other man ignored completely. Iruka's look on the other hand was a bit harder to ignore, but he knew that he had more leeway with the brown haired man than Kakashi did.

He gave a small smile. "I'll try not to take too long."

Iruka huffed and let the man lead Naruto inside, shutting the door behind them.

Naruto sat in a chair directly in the center of the room. The room itself was practically empty save for the identical chair placed not 3 feet in front of him, where Inoichi was seated. Finally both of them sat.

First it was the questions. Simple at first, such as his name, birthday, how he liked the weather today. They became more personal after a while, asking how he felt about the last few months, what he thought about the people around him. His ninja status, the Kyuubi, the questions were almost never ending. Strangely enough, Inoichi never attempted to look into Naruto's mind. He just kept asking questions.

Of course, Naruto said nothing to all of the questions, his face impassive and eyes vacant. His body was relaxed in his chair, almost as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Inoichi spent a few minutes just staring directly into Naruto's eyes, mentally comparing them to how they looked when he last saw the younger man in the hospital. They still held that absent look to them, but he could see that there was something _there_.

"I know that you understand me, Naruto." Naruto didn't react. "I don't need to look into your psyche to know that you are more aware than what you're letting others see."

Still no reaction.

Inoichi sat back in his seat, his eyes never leaving the blonde in front of him. "You act as if you aren't really here, as if you don't really understand what's really going on here, but you do. I'm not even sure if Iruka really knows how alert you are." There. An almost invisible movement of his eyes. "But that would be insulting, wouldn't it? To say that you are deceiving that man outside."

Inoichi wanted to know why. Why Naruto was acting as of he wasn't really there. There were so many possible reasons but he didn't know which one was the right one. And he would never know either, because he valued every piece of the blonde's privacy that he could spare. His only purpose here was to see just where Naruto stood as far as his mental capacities, nothing more.

He began to speculate, sprouting off random possibilities at every turn in an attempt to get a more obvious reaction from the younger man. After so long, he began to hold more of a one-sided conversation about anything that he could think of. It wasn't until he mentioned Minato and Kushina that Inoichi truly understood how aware Naruto really was.

"I knew a couple when I was growing up. They had a kid, a son, would be about your age. They were friends of mine. Died a while back though. Sometimes I wonder, what they would ever do if they hadn't died and been here during all this mess. Kushina was rowdy woman but kind-hearted, and her husband Mina—"

He hadn't expected it. He was only sprouting off a stream of facts in no real order, to finish up his assessment. He had wanted a reaction, a good solid reaction to wrap up this section and he had gotten one, but to what and how he got it wasn't what he was expecting. Had he known that Naruto knew who his parents were, he probably never would have brought them up.

At the mention of the blonde's parents, the temperature in the room spiked by several degrees. Inoichi froze in the middle of his undirected ramble, his body rigid in surprise when an aura swept over him.

_That's…_

Inoichi looked directly into Naruto's face. It still held that impassive look but his eyes were narrowed in anger. But it was that aura that sent all kind of warnings though his head. It was sickeningly familiar, a presence that he prayed he would never encounter again in his lifetime.

_Kyuubi!_

Inoichi waited, barely refraining from jumping as far back as he could get from the blonde. He sat stiffly in his seat, his fingers itching to grab something for protection, and waited. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the aura disappeared. Inoichi realized suddenly that he had been holding his breath.

Releasing a shacking breath, he leaned backwards into his chair. He looked up at the ceiling above them. "You may go."

Naruto looked at Inoichi and stood, his eyes not as vacant as before his visit. On uneasy footing, Naruto made his way to the door. Before he could place his hand on the handle, Inoichi stopped him.

"I will have to report…this, to Tsunade." He paused, and stood up. His eyes finding the back of Naruto's head. "I know it won't mean much coming from someone like me…but be careful. The council has been wanting to know about your physical and mental condition since you left from the hospital, but Tsunade has held them off. I will try my best to get to her before they can inquire about it." Inoichi's eyes roamed around the room, as if he was looking for something to give him away. Or better yet, for someone to burst through the door after that small display of chakra. "Avoid them if you can."

Naruto grabbed the handle and opened the door. As he was leaving, he looked directly at Inoichi, taking in the man's exhausted appearance. He stared at the man for a second longer before he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Iruka was the first to greet him, a worried smile on his face as he asked about how the visit went. Kakashi pushed himself from the wall, announcing that he would meet them back at the house later before he was gone in a swirl of leaves. Iruka shot the departure spot an irritated look.

"Let's go, Naruto," Iruka said gently, helping the blonde out of the building. Once again, they left through the hospital doors and Iruka hoped that they would never have to come back. They headed towards the streets, anxious to get back home. Not long into their walk, a woman made a hesitant attempt to approach them but Iruka chased her off, not wanting to listen to whatever she had to say. No one else tried to approach them. When they were half way to the house, Iruka stopped walking, a thought having crossed his mind.

"There's something I've been meaning to show you, Naruto. I think you should see it," was all he said before they switched directions. Soon enough, they were standing in front of the Memorial Stone. Iruka stood to the side of Naruto, his hand on Naruto's shoulder in silent support.

Naruto's eyes raked over the stone, from the top and stopping a few names from the end. His eyes stayed fixed on that spot.

"We found out shortly after you were imprisoned. I wanted to tell you but I couldn't get down there to…" Iruka paused, his voice tight with pain.

Naruto looked away from the stone to Iruka, his eyes questioning. Iruka understood.

"It was against the leader of Akatsuki. His body was lost in the waters of Ame."

Naruto dragged his eyes back towards the stone.

_Jiraiya._

Iruka squeezed his shoulder in silent comfort before moving behind him to give him space. Naruto stared at the stone for a little while longer before he sat down, crossed his legs and closed his eyes. His posture was vaguely familiar to Iruka, who remembered seeing Naruto in that same position almost everyday. Naruto sat like that, never moving out of place while Iruka continued to stand back.

Footsteps sounded almost silently around the empty plain that held the giant stone, stopping momentarily by Iruka before continuing next to Naruto. A rustle of clothing and a familiar warmth next to him announced another presence to Naruto. Never opening his eyes, Naruto inclined his head forward.

"It's good to see you too." The man beside him said, voice _oddly_soft. "I would have been here sooner."

Naruto gave a twitch of his fingers and a twitch of his lips, his head still inclined forward. The man was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Naruto opened his eyes and raised his head, turning it to face the man sitting next to him. He had never heard such words from the man before…

Gaara could only give a ghost of a smile in return.

* * *

**Author Note:** There you go. Gaara has _finally_ shown up after about two years (sorry about that, again).

Thank you for reading. _**Review.**_

_~~XxKageTenshixX_


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